


Chuck vs. The Mashup

by Amelia_Wolfson



Series: Chuck Vs. The Band Nerds [3]
Category: Chuck (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 78,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23127136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amelia_Wolfson/pseuds/Amelia_Wolfson
Summary: The alternate continuation of Band Nerds where the Band Nerds Universe meets the Cannon Universe. How will their previous meeting impact the dynamics of not only Team Intersect, but the Bartowski family and friends at large? Will it change the trajectory of Charlie and Jenny's lives?
Series: Chuck Vs. The Band Nerds [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620046
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Chuck’s head pounded as he sat behind the Nerd Herd desk wondering how his life had come to this. True he’d had some setbacks when his parents left, but he and Ellie had done well for themselves. Both earned scholarships to the schools of their choice, and he was one of the top students in his Engineering program at Stanford until his best friend and roommate framed him for cheating and then slept with his girlfriend. The same girlfriend Chuck had been planning to propose to, at least the jeweler had a 30-day return policy and he was able to get his money back on the ring.

His fall from grace had been instant and humiliating. He still remembered the sound of Ellie’s voice when he called to tell her he was coming home, the sad but supportive face of his long-time best friend, Morgan, when he told him what had happened. What was worse was having to crawl back to the BuyMore and beg Big Mike for a job and seeing the look of disappointment on the older man’s face after he had supported and encouraged Chuck’s dreams of being an engineer back when he was still a green shirt in Encino.

To this day, Chuck still didn’t understand what he could have possibly done to have had this much bad karma come his way. If it wasn’t bad enough, the hits kept coming, ‘his’ birthday party the previous night was nothing more than a ‘please someone hook up with my poor, sad brother’ party, just as most of the social gatherings his sister had held in recent years had been. Then the most shocking, getting that email from Bryce who, somehow, had remembered his birthday. Between the beers he’d drank at the party, and Morgan spiking the punch, he must have passed out while reading Bryce’s email, because he had woken up on the floor with the world’s worst hangover. His head had never hurt this much, even after his heaviest drinking days in college, this headache of his was even causing auditory and visual hallucinations, was that even possible with a hangover?

It wasn’t helping at all that Big Mike had him hunting down a new Prism Express for the store and BuyMore Corporate had him on hold. He had been thumbing through repair files trying to figure out which were the priority cases when he saw Morgan come and lean against the desk, looking for a distraction. Chuck, trying to not encourage this behavior, kept waiting for him to move along as he continued to look through the files on his desk.

“Stop the presses!” He heard his little buddy gasp, “Who’s that? Vicky Vale!”

“Vicky Vale a-Vic-a Vicky Vale…” Chuck sang to himself until he caught sight of a gorgeous blond woman with eyes like he hadn’t seen in much too long. His heart started to pound in his chest as he dropped his phone in shock.

“I hope I’m not interrupting something,” The woman smiled up at him.

“Erm, it’s from Batman…” He tried to explain while simultaneously trying to place her. There was just something so familiar about the woman in front of him.

“And that makes it better?” The woman teased, her eyes sparkling with good humor.

“Hi,” Morgan smiled brightly at her as his eyes drifted up and down her body, causing Chuck’s fists to clench at his side, his protective instincts flaring up as he tried to not punch his best friend for his behavior toward this mystery woman. “I’m Morgan, and this here is Chuck.”

“Wow, I didn’t know people named their kids Chuck anymore,” She responded, the name fitting the tall man in front of her, but at the same time another, similar name kept springing to mind. She tamped down the urge and turned to the shorter of the two men, “Or Morgan for that matter.”

“Yeah, well my parents were sadists,” Chuck joked, “And his carnival freaks found him in a dumpster.”

“But they raised me as one of their own,” Morgan completed the joke by rote, it was clear the pair had done this routine before. It made her smile as their banter seemed very familiar to her, but she couldn’t give it any more thought when she realized the taller man, Chuck was asking her something.

“So, what can I help you with…” He started.

“Sarah,” She supplied, with a warm smile, as she slid a flip phone across the desk, “I just bought that thing and it keeps turning off on me randomly.”

“Ah, yes, the Intelicell,” Chuck picked up the device and popped the back off, using his mouth to hold on to it by the edge as he pulled out a screw driver and talked around the backing, “They have this little screw in the back that likes to come loose, all you gotta do is give it a few quick turns and…” He popped the back onto the phone again and handed it over as it powered up, “Good as new.”

“Wow, you geeks are good,” Sarah grinned up at him.

“Oh, well, uh, nerds, actually, we prefer nerds,” Chuck stammered, echoed slightly by the shorter man, “You know, Nerd Herd and…” he pointed to the sign above his head. The wording bringing back a long-forgotten memory of a boy on a beach, breeze ruffling his too-long curls, his smile warming her to the tips of her toes. Before she could put too much thought into it, a frazzled man came running up to the desk, a little girl in a leotard in tow.

Chuck listened to the man’s rambling, trying to calm him down as he attempted to diagnose the problem before him. Once the issue was found, he quickly went into action, making it right to preserve this moment in the little girl’s life. He even encouraged her in that sweet way he had when the girl had doubts.

“Oh Charlie,” Sarah murmured to herself, recognition washing over her as she watched him, memories from that weekend in San Diego coming back to her, “You wonderful, sweet man, you never changed.” The moment the words came from her mouth she realized she couldn’t go through with her mission, she was already compromised.

She knew she should just turn around and leave, but something in her wanted him to be able to find her. She had always regretted how things had ended between them, a few short months after they had met and went their separate ways, her father’s crimes finally caught up to him resulting in his arrest. It was that same day that Director Graham offered her a job with the CIA, fast tracked her high school education and got her placed at Harvard in the linguistics program as he soon found she had a talent for languages. She just wished she could have called Charlie one last time to tell him what was going on or at least that she was going away, she could almost imagine how much it had hurt him to hear her number was disconnected. It was probably the same pain she felt for months and years after, to this day their brief two-day romance was the truest relationship she’d ever had.

Even her two-year long fling with Bryce had been nothing but convenience and sex. She smiled to herself remembering the moments she’d had to bite her tongue to keep from calling out Charlie’s name in bed. Even though they had never been anywhere near taking that kind of step, she knew that if their relationship had been able to continue and they’d decided to go further, it would have been more than just sex. It was still him she fantasized about, even if his face had become fuzzy in her mind’s eye over the years. Looking over at the man who stood, a broad smile on his face as he watched the young ballerina perform her routine, she knew she was not likely to forget his face ever again, even if this was the last time she would ever see him. It only took a split second for her to make the decision. She grabbed a pen and a business card from the desk, quickly jotting down her phone number and leaving it behind like a paper clad glass slipper before she turned and left the building, not turning back… more than twice… as she made her exit.

To say Chuck was disappointed when he turned back to the desk after helping the ballerina and her well-meaning but idiotic father to find Sarah gone, would be an understatement. There was just something about her that was so familiar to him. He hadn’t seen beauty like hers in years, not even Jill, who he had once planned to marry, was as beautiful as Sarah. He rolled the name around in his mouth, but it still didn’t seem right to him, sure it suited her as she looked like a princess straight out of the storybooks his mom used to read him as a kid, but there was this niggling feeling that it wasn’t really her name.

“Dude!” Morgan called from where he was standing by the Nerd Herd desk, waiving a small bit of paper, “She left you her number!” Chuck rolled his eyes as he watched his friend smell the card before handing it to him when he’d returned to the desk. “So, are you gonna call her?”

“Not today, Morgan,” Chuck shook his head, “I’ve been having a really weird day, my head is still pounding, and calling her a scant 10 minutes after she left her contact information screams ‘desperate’ louder than pretty much anything else. I’ll call her tomorrow, give her a chance to realize what she’s done and make her escape.”

A few hours later, Chuck was heading home, Morgan in tow. Apparently in addition to crashing the display sample Prism Express at the store, his best friend had managed to crash his own computer with the porn virus that was circulating right now. Opening his front door, his day went from weird to worse when he walked in to find a figure, clad head to toe in black, carrying the tower for his computer. The thing had crashed, and he had been hoping to work on it that night to figure out what went wrong, he begged the person in black to take anything else, but to leave the computer tower. Morgan, however, went into attack mode right away, causing the figure to go into a fighting stance as Morgan began throwing things at the intruder. The items were quickly deflected, hitting Chuck in some rather sensitive places as Morgan encouraged him to fight back making Chuck give him stink eye as he tried to hobble into the room only to be kicked to the floor by the intruder followed close by Morgan being thrown on top of him tip to tail style. Before the intruder could go back for the tower, the shelf that it had been set on collapsed and fell to the floor obliterating the tower and the hard drive within.

The next day just added to the weirdness that had become his life. Chuck had gone over to Large Mart to replace the door locks for the apartment when he spotted a man, who he’d instantly recognized as a Serbian demolitions expert, despite never seeing the man before in his life. He tried to make a quick getaway and could have sworn the man was following him around the store, but by the time he could find an employee to report the siting to, the man was across the store, checking out and laughing with the cashier.

Sarah had once again changed her mind about whether or not to get involved in this mission. She knew that Chuck wasn’t the kind of person to steal government secrets, there was no way he could have been in cahoots with Bryce. Even if she didn’t know Charlie, or Chuck as he seemed to go by with his friends and coworkers, the lack of a backup drive or secondary hard drive proved that he had no prior knowledge of Bryce’s plans and she told Graham as much. Graham promptly informed her that her mission was over and that the intersect was no longer her problem. The NSA was taking over and sending Major Casey to handle the case. She felt her protective instincts rise as she begged for more time to try to find a solution, Graham informed her that she had twelve hours but that she would be going in without any support or resources. Reluctantly, she accepted the terms and went into the BuyMore once more.

With a nervous sigh, Chuck headed back across the plaza to the BuyMore, hoping that if he got his mind back on work, he could forget everything that had been happening lately. It didn’t help that his mind was working on overdrive and still hurt like hell. He groaned and laid his head on his arms, which were crossed in front of him on the desk.

“I’m losing my mind!” He kept repeating as he lightly hit his head on his forearms. When he heard a ding from the service bell, he assumed it was Morgan, and reached over to quiet the ringing that was making his splitting headache even worse. “Not now Morgan,” He groaned then realized the hand beneath his was too delicate and smooth to be that of his best friend. He looked up and saw the woman from before.

“Jenny!” He saw the woman’s eyes widen before he caught the slip, “Erm, sorry, talk about blast from the past, I meant Sarah. Because Sarah is you, Sarah is your name…o”

“Chuck, is there someplace we can talk privately?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. “It’s important.”

“Yeah, um, sure,” Chuck looked around and waved over Anna, one of the other nerd herders, to watch the desk. He remembered the day she had been hired; Morgan practically shit a brick when he realized it was the same Anna he had lusted after at that band competition their senior year of high school. “I’m not feeling too great, I’m gonna head home. You got the con.”

“Aye, aye, Chuckles,” Anna gave him a fingertip salute.

“Thanks,” Chuck nodded and stepped out from behind the desk, joining Sarah by the entrance, “I know a place that’s not too far away. Do you have a car? Because I can only take the herder out if I’m on call, which I’m not tonight.”

“Sure, we can take my car,” She hit the button on her remote, causing the alarm system on the Porsche to chirp twice as it disengaged.

“Holy shit,” Chuck murmured, “I am in the wrong line of work, what is it that you do and how can I get in on it?”

“Get in the car, Chuck,” Sarah ordered, opening the driver side door and waiting for him to get into the passenger seat before climbing in herself.

“Just head to the Malibu Pier,” Chuck instructed, “There are a few quieter places off the beaten path down there that will probably serve our purposes.”

“I should have known,” Sarah muttered under her breath with a small chuckle as she put the car into gear and pealed out of the plaza and onto the highway, throwing Chuck back in his seat where he hung on for dear life. It didn’t take long, at the breakneck speed Sarah enjoyed, to arrive at their destination. “Where to now?”

“Follow me,” Chuck held out his hand to her, the gesture almost second nature to them both as she slid her hand into his. Both glanced up at each other as the familiar spark ran up both their arms at the contact. Chuck shook his head to clear it and began to guide her down a pathway which led to a small alcove that not many people knew of just beyond the pier.

They settled in the sand and watched the waves for a while before Sarah finally spoke. “Chuck, what was that you called me back at the store?”

“Jenny, I think,” Chuck groaned, brushing his hand through his curls, nervously. “I looked up and I saw your eyes and you reminded me of someone I used to know. We shared a brief… thing, and I thought there was a real connection there, but like any good thing in my life she just… vanished. But you don’t want to hear about that.”

“Oh, Charlie,” She shook her head, with a sad smile. Chuck’s head shot up to look at her, eyes wide.

“Jenny?” He gasped, disbelievingly.

Sarah just nodded, “It wasn’t my choice. I felt it too, but things went sideways, and I had to go. They wouldn’t even let me call you to say goodbye. I am so, so, sorr…” Her words were cut off by Chuck lunging at her and kissing her until neither of them had any breath left.

“I’ve missed you,” He whispered, pulling away slightly, his hands still on her cheeks, “God, I don’t know how it is even possible, but you have gotten even more beautiful in the past 9 years.”

“Yeah, well I lost the braces, learned how to style my hair,” She joked.

“No, it’s something more,” He shook his head, “Like you finally found your purpose for being here, your true identity.”

“How do you…” She started then shook her head to get back on track, “Chuck.”

“Please, call me Charlie,” Chuck pleaded with her, “Everyone else calls me Chuck, but with you, for you, I am Charlie.”

“Alright, Charlie,” She gave him a small smile, which he returned, “This is hard…” She sighed trying to find a way to do this, “How well do you know Bryce Larkin?”

Chuck’s eyes narrowed at the name, and all joy faded from his face, “He was my roommate in college. How do _you_ know Bryce?”

“We worked together at the C.I.A.,” Sarah explained.

“C.I.A.?” Chuck’s eyes widened, “You’re telling me that Bryce Larkin from Connecticut is a spy?”

“Yes, a rogue spy,” Sarah acknowledged, “Has he tried to contact you at all in the past few days?”

“I haven’t heard from Bryce since…” Chuck thought, “No, wait, he sent me an email on my birthday.”

“Did you open it?” Sarah urged him to continue.

“Yeah, it was a line from a game we programmed in college…” Chuck stammered, “I had to type in the correct response to open it, when I did, I saw all these pictures…”

“Does your computer have a back-up?” She pressed, “Anything the file could be saved to?”

“No, it died last week, and I hadn’t gotten around to repairing it,” Chuck shook his head, “And someone broke into the house the other day and tried to steal my tower, but it fell and shattered beyond repair.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Sarah gave him a sympathetic look, “I really thought that shelf looked sturdier than it was.”

“That was you?!” Chuck looked at her in amazement.

“Yeah,” Sarah nodded, “Sorry about how I left you and Morgan, I’d had a really crappy day and I needed something to make me laugh.”

“I’m so glad we could entertain you,” Chuck replied dryly, “Why are you so interested in an email that some guy I knew from college sent me, Jenny?”

“Charlie, those pictures you saw were encoded with secrets,” Sarah explained, “Government secrets, if you saw them then you know them.”

“Secrets?” Chuck gasped, “But there were thousands of them. Wait, I’ve been getting these intuitive flashes the last couple days, things I shouldn’t even know...”

Sarah watched as Chuck paled, “What? What is it?” Chuck’s mouth opened and closed a few more times as if he was searching for words, “Charlie, talk to me.”

“They’re gonna kill him!” Chuck gasped then looked at Sarah, “Jenny, they’re gonna kill him!”

“Kill who?” Sarah urged him on, “Whose gonna be killed?”

“Stanfield, you know the NATO guy,” Chuck supplied, “It’s all making sense now,” He murmured as he began to break down all the information and analyze it, “There was a Serbian demolitions expert at Large Mart today, he was sent to interrupt the Security Conference that Stanfield is speaking at tonight at the Grand Seville. He’s going to set off a bomb and kill everyone there.”

“Oh my God,” Sarah stood, “When is the bomb supposed to go off? Do we have time to stop it?”

“I, erm,” Chuck looked at his watch, “We have an hour, two tops.”

“Then let’s go,” Sarah grabbed his hand and dragged him back to the car.

“Jenny, what are you doing?” Chuck asked, a little panicked, “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to go try to stop the bomb,” She started pressing buttons on her console.

“Stop the… What?!” Chuck demanded, “Stop the bomb? Jenny are you crazy? Do you know how to stop a bomb, ‘cause I don’t!”

“We have to at least try, or hundreds if not thousands of people are gonna get hurt or worse,” Sarah countered, hitting one last button. The sound of ringing came through the speakers.

“Graham,” Came the male voice.

“This is Walker,” Sarah reported, “Larkin sent the program by email to Mr. Bartowski, who opened it and accidentally downloaded the files into himself. There is no back up, but he is able to access the information. To that point, Mr. Bartowski just brought to my attention an assassination plot against General Stanfield that we are presently on our way to try to prevent. I don’t have a way to get a hold of Casey right now, but if what you said earlier is true, his team might be in a better position to stop it.”

“I will contact Beckman and have her redirect Casey’s team,” The man confirmed, “Graham out.”

Sarah quickly whipped into the valet area of the swanky hotel and jumped out of the car, followed closely by Chuck who was quickly pushed to the ground by Casey who held a gun to his head. “Casey, what the hell are you doing?” Sarah demanded.

“Stay out of it, Walker, he belongs to the N.S.A.” Casey ordered.

“No, C.I.A. gets him first.” Sarah countered, “It was our guy who created this mess, we’ll fix it, but right now we don’t have time to get into this. According to the intel provided by the intersect download that is in Mr. Bartowski’s brain, there is a bomb in the building. So, we can stay here and have our little turf war, or we can go in there and disarm the bomb, potentially saving the lives of everyone here.”

“Fine, how do we get there?” Casey turned back to Chuck.

“The easiest way?” Chuck asked looking up at Sarah.

“No, the fastest,” Sarah countered.

“Got ya,” Chuck nodded, climbing to his feet and running through the lobby and directly through the fountain, Casey and Sarah hot on his heels. They tore down a hall and around a corner to the ballroom where the general was about to take the stage. Casey and Sarah didn’t stop as they flashed their badges at the security detail as they flung the door open.

“You got us this far, Bartowski,” Casey muttered, “Now where is it?”

Chuck’s eyes surveyed the room until he spotted a serving cart that looked out of place and was unattended, “There, right there,” He pointed following Casey and Sarah to the cart. They pulled open the lid and tore off the fabric covering the lower part of the cart to reveal a laptop computer and several bricks of C-4. There was a countdown showing on the screen as they debated the best way to disable the contraption.

Stanfield, thankfully noticed the commotion and initiated an evacuation, leaving Chuck, Sarah, Casey and a few of the security detail in the room. Casey and Sarah were struggling with finding the best solution when Chuck recognized the type of laptop it was, and an idea hit him. “Guys, I have an idea,” He spoke up, nudging them out of the way as his hands flew to the computer keyboard.

“What do you think you are doing, Bartowski,” Casey demanded, grabbing the younger man’s arms, “That’s not an x-box, and you are not an x-man.”

“I know, Casey, this is a Prism Express, we have them at the BuyMore,” Chuck explained as calmly as he could as he pulled his arms from Casey’s grip and began to pull up the DOS override protocols, fingers flying over the keys as he spoke. “I can override the programming by using the DOS protocols to pull up the internet.”

Sarah watched in fascination at how quickly Chuck was working, it brought her back to one of the first missions she’d had with Bryce, they were tasked with taking down a hacker, but all they could ever get was a copy of the attack after the fact. She had watched at how quickly and easily the hacker breached the system, what amazed her, though, was that he never stole any information. It was more like he poked around, fixed a few security gaps and got out, but not without sending an email from the internal server explaining what he’d done, and signing it with his handle, Piranha. She’d put in her report that she felt that it was a waste of resources to hunt him down as he wasn’t actually doing anything illegal, aside from accessing government servers. It seemed like he didn’t have any motivation but to help. There was just something about how the code flew across the screen at Chuck’s prompting that brought her back to that time, but that was something she would deal with later as she saw an internet browser pop up.

“Are you really surfing porn right now?” Casey demanded incredulously as he watched Chuck call up the website for a Serbian porn star whose website had recently caused a rather aggressive virus to spread across the internet like wildfire.

“Just trust me on this,” Chuck looked at the older man before turning back to Sarah, “You may want to close your eyes,” He advised before hitting the key to load the website and activate the virus. They heard the starlet ask if she was sexy a few times before the hard drive began to smoke, shutting down the computer and stopping the count down. Chuck’s eyes widened in surprise, “I did it! I actually stopped a bomb! …Oh my God, what if I had been wrong?”

“Don’t puke on the C-4,” Casey advised patting the younger man on the shoulder.

“Charlie, I am so proud of you,” Sarah threw her arms around his neck, barely resisting the urge to kiss him silly right here in the middle of the ballroom floor under the watchful eye of the secret service and the N.S.A. team that Casey had brought with him.

“Thank you, Jenny.” Chuck buried his head in her neck and held her tight until the nerves that had been coursing through his body subsided and he stopped shaking.

It took a few hours for the scene to be cleared for cleanup and the three of them were released, the clandestine agents to fill out their reports and Chuck to… well figure out what was to happen from here. He had stopped in the bathroom to clean the nervous sweat from his brow and neck before rejoining Casey and Sarah outside, only to hear the two of them arguing about whether or not to put him in a bunker. It was no surprise that Casey was for that option while Sarah was vehemently against it, knowing how vitally important Chuck’s family, which included his closest friends, meant to him.

Chuck had enough, “Hey, this is my damn life we’re talking about,” He interrupted, “I didn’t ask for this to happen to me, but it’s done. We don’t even know how this stupid thing works,” He gestured to his head, “Who’s to say it will continue to work without any real-world stimuli? Until then, I have had a long day, I’m going home.”

“You ain’t going anywhere, Bartowski,” Casey tried to stop him, only to have his hand slapped away by the frustrated computer nerd.

“You need me, not the other way around,” Chuck reminded him, “I am going home, you can fight over territory all you want, but I refuse to leave my family, we’ve already lost too much. Also, wherever Sarah goes, I go. If I absolutely must have a handler, it will be her or the both of you, no other option, and I damned well better be compensated for this shit.” With that he stormed off, hailing a taxi. The agents watching him with amused, shocked, and impressed looks on their faces.

“Good for you, Charlie,” Sarah muttered before turning to Casey, “He’s right, we don’t know how it works, better to keep him topside until we know more. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some nerd watching to do.”


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the valet brought her car around, she sped off towards Malibu to their alcove to sit with him as he thought things over. She watched from a distance until the first breaks of daylight could be seen over the mountains before heading over to sit beside him, her shoes in her hand. She wrapped her arm around his and hugged herself to his side. “What are you thinking, Charlie?”

“I’m never gonna be rid of you, am I?” He asked softly, “No escape?”

“No,” Sarah shook her head, “At least not from me.”

“Good,” He pulled his arm from her grasp and wrapped it around her, pulling her tight against his side as he leaned down to press a kiss on her head, “I don’t think I could handle it if I lost you again.”

“We are going to keep you out of the bunker, at least unless there is a real safety threat against you, in which case, I will lock you away myself if it means keeping you safe. Understand?” Sarah looked up at him.

“Understood, with one proviso,” Chuck countered, “Ellie, Devon, and Morgan have to be protected too.”

“Done,” Sarah nodded. They sat for a while until Sarah felt the need to come clean with him the way she should have all those years ago. “Charlie, there are a few things I need you to know about me…”

“Daughter of a con artist who was going by the name Jack Burton at the time of his arrest,” Chuck spoke softly, “That was back when you were Jenny.”

“I’m still your Jenny,” Sarah countered, “Intersect?”

“Intersect,” Chuck confirmed, “I flashed on your ring earlier, saw your file, it’s got some pretty damn impressive stuff. Although, the last assignment, that was loaded into this thing, the one in Hungary, was really murky, couldn’t really make heads or tails of it.”

“Remember when you said that it seemed like I’d found my purpose, my reason for being?” She looked up at him.

“Yeah,” He nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“Charlie, that mission was a mess from the word ‘go.’” Sarah explained, “I was sent in to take out some mobsters who had killed a rich diplomat and his wife and retrieve a package.” She turned, watching the waves a moment more, letting them calm her, “Turns out a baby was the package. The man who was with me, Kieran Ryker, had set it all up. He wanted the baby who was the sole heir to her family’s fortune. I couldn’t stand by and watch him take advantage of her and then throw her away like trash. I took her and ran, I was able to smuggle her back to the states, and convinced some of my dad’s old contacts to get me forged documents for her as well as some legit contacts of mine who would make them legal without involving my name or hers in any of it.”

“So, you’re a mom, now?” Chuck’s eyebrows raised as he looked at her in astonishment, and maybe there was a slight hint of admiration and dare she hope for it, love in his warm eyes.

“Yes… No… I don’t know,” She shook her head, “All that matters, is that she is safe now. I took her to my mom to take care of. My name has been changed so many times both legally and… less so, that the C.I.A. has no official record of her being connected to me, which means that it will be harder for Ryker to find them.”

Chuck nodded and was quiet for a while before he spoke again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Hmmm?” Sarah looked over at him.

“When the day comes that you can take her back, because we both know that day will come sooner or later, would it be too much to ask to be there?” Chuck asked.

“If that day ever comes,” Sarah shrugged, “Sure.”

“Jenny,” Chuck spoke firmer, causing her to look up at him, “I don’t think you understand what I’m asking. I know you, just as much as I did back when we were kids, you are my ‘it’ girl, the one by whom I measure all other potential relationships. I am so tired of second best; I want the real deal. I know you don’t feel like you are ready now, and I don’t know how this whole computer on the brain thing will work out, but I’m yours, forever, irrevocably. That also extends to your daughter, because let’s face it, that’s really what she is to you. All that to say, when the time comes, I want to be there for you, for both of you, in whatever capacity that you’ll allow. Husband, boyfriend, friend, father, weird uncle who has the hots for Mommy…”

Sarah snorted at his humor and nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek, how was it this man could make her fall in love with him so completely in the span of a day? He did it when they were teenagers and did it again now. She had a feeling that if Graham went along with this plan to keep Chuck out of the bunker, he would want some way of having near constant protection for him, which means she would be asked to play the part of the girlfriend for the sake of his friends and family. “Molly.”

“I’m sorry?” Chuck asked her.

“Her name, is Molly,” Sarah smiled softly, “Amalia Lisa Novak.”

“Novak?” Chuck raised an eyebrow, “That’s Polish, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t think that would be a problem, Mr. Bartowski,” Sarah teased him.

“It’s not, I just didn’t realize you were.” Chuck shrugged, “I assume Novak was your birth name?”

“Samantha Lisa Novak,” Sarah confirmed, “But you can call me Sarah, or Jenny.”

“How about I call you Sarah with everyone else, but keep Jenny just for us?” Chuck offered.

“So long as we can keep Charlie just for us, too,” Sarah purred, leaning up to kiss him.

“I can live with that,” Chuck nodded returning the kiss, “And pretty much anything else that is thrown at me so long as you, and hopefully one day Molly, are a part of the deal.”

“Always,” She promised, “Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?”

“Probably about as much as I’ve missed you,” Chuck smiled at her, but it quickly turned to a yawn.

“Tired?” She smiled at him, knowingly.

“Yeah,” Chuck admitted, “It’s kinda been a long few days.”

“Call out,” She advised, “I’ll take you back to my place, it’s closer. We can get some rest before you take me home to meet the family.”

“Sounds good,” Chuck nodded.

The pair was halfway to the car when Chuck stopped her with a hand on her arm. “There is one more thing, in the spirit of full disclosure. I don’t want any secrets or lies between us. I’m more than just a computer nerd at the BuyMore.”

“I know,” Sarah grinned up at him.

“Actually, you probably don’t, it’s not really something of public record,” Chuck shook his head, “Wouldn’t have been in my dossier that I know you got before you were sent here. It started out as a dare in junior high school and kinda grew from there. Ellie doesn’t even know about it; she would have killed me if she did.”

Sarah waited patiently for him to spit out whatever it was that was weighing on his mind.

“I know this may make you doubt my honesty about whether or not I actually did the cheating that resulted in my expulsion from Stanford,” Chuck gave her a nervous smile, “Have you ever heard of a hacker that goes by the handle Piranha?”

“Yeah, pretty much all the alphabet agencies from the F.B.I. to the C.I.A., even the N.S.A. have been trying to figure out who he is to recruit him.” She looked up at him and saw his sheepish smile, “Wait, you mean to tell me that _you_ are the Piranha?”

“Yep, I am him, or he is me. Well, you get the idea,” Chuck shrugged, “Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, it actually may help me convince the D.N.I. to pay you for your contributions as the intersect host if we bring you on as an analyst.” Sarah grinned, “Although your lack of a college degree may be problematic, but we might be able to work around that, I’ll have to talk to Graham.”

“So, you’re not mad?” Chuck checked with her.

“Relieved I’m not going crazy is more like,” Sarah laughed giving him a kiss and leading him back to the car, “Back at the hotel, I thought I recognized the coding you had used. I’d seen it before, when Bryce and I had been put on a cyberterrorism prevention team, a couple years back. There was this guy who kept helping us, but no one knew who it was. Did Bryce ever know?”

“Oh, Bryce knew,” Chuck rolled his eyes, “I’m actually surprised he didn’t use it as the grounds of my expulsion rather than the tests, since the first charge would have at least been a legitimate reason to get me kicked out. Technically speaking, hacking is against the student code of conduct for Stanford University.”

Once they were in the car and on their way back to Sarah’s hotel, she spoke again, “So let me get this straight, Bryce knew that you were actively hacking when you were in college but resorted to planting stolen tests to get you kicked out? That doesn’t sound right,”

“I don’t really understand it either,” Chuck shrugged as they continued on down the road.

They sat in silence a few more minutes until something occurred to Sarah, “What was the test?”

“It was for my psychology of media elective, the midterm was something about subliminal image retention and visual auditory encoding,” Chuck shrugged as they pulled into the hotel parking lot, “I remember Professor Fleming saying it was going to be super hard, but it wasn’t really all that bad, at least not until I got called into his office a week later. I was told that I had done much better on the test than the rest of the class and was accused of stealing the answer key.”

“Fleming?” Sarah’s eyes shot to him, “As in George Fleming?”

“You know him?” Chuck’s eyes widened.

“I know of him,” Sarah explained, “He’s one of the top C.I.A. recruiters on the West Coast. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, Ivy League and Elite level universities tend to have the highest number of nominated candidates…”

“Jenny, what are you talking about?” Chuck pressed.

“Did he ever request a private meeting with you?” Sarah inquired, “Before the stolen tests were planted, that is?”

“No, but I do remember Bryce acting kind of weird a few days before that,” Chuck admitted, “I caught him erasing something from our answering machine and looking guilty. I figured some girl he’d slept with had left a really inappropriate message on the machine and I’d caught him listening and deleting it. It’d happened before, it was bound to happen again.”

“Charlie, I think it’s a real possibility that Fleming wanted to recruit you and Bryce took it upon himself to block it for some reason,” Sarah explained, “I’ll have to talk to my boss about this, if I’m right, we may be able to get Stanford to drop its charge of cheating and reverse your expulsion.”

“You can try,” Chuck shrugged, as they made their way into the hotel and up to Sarah’s room, “I doubt that you’ll succeed, not because putting things right isn’t out of your abilities, more that Stanford very rarely reverses these kinds of decisions. It just sucks that it had to happen my last term, to be stopped 12 credits short of my goal and for a fake reason was so incredibly frustrating.”

“12 credits?!” Sarah looked up at him as she disengaged the door lock and raised her finger to her mouth to be quiet. Once she was satisfied the room was bug free, she continued her thought, “You were so close, I hope they won’t make it too hard on you to finish if we are able to get this straightened out for you. But that’s a problem for another day, for now, sleep.” She nodded toward the bed.

“Okay,” Chuck nodded then stopped short when he saw the one bed, “Um, Jenny, there’s only one bed.”

“Charlie, we’re both adults,” She chuckled, “I think we can handle sharing a bed.”

“I also don’t have anything to sleep in,” He protested.

“Just strip down to your underwear, that should be comfortable enough,” She shrugged, pulling her blouse up over her head and grabbing a t-shirt from the dresser, slipping it on before reaching up under the back. Chuck saw her hands moving beneath her shirt but had no idea what she was doing until she got a satisfied and relieved look on her face and pulling her arms through the arm straps which now hung loosely through the arm holes of her shirt, before pulling her bra out from the neck of her shirt. She then undid her pants and shimmied them down her legs tossing the garment over the arm of the sofa before crawling into the bed in nothing but a t-shirt and her panties.

Chuck was frozen in place but quickly came to when he heard her call his name which was all he needed to hear to jumpstart his focus. He quickly loosened his tie, unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it up over his head, tossing it over the back of a nearby chair before kicking off his shoes and socks and undoing his pants. Once he was down to his boxers and undershirt, he did his level best to stay calm as he slid into the bed beside Sarah, trying to not put too much focus on both of their states of undress.

Chuck woke the next morning to the sound of beeping. The next thing that registered was the warm body pressed up against his. At some point in the night, they must have gravitated towards each other as now their legs were tangled together with Sarah snuggled against his chest, his arms wrapped around her protectively. There didn’t seem to be a part of their body that wasn’t in complete contact with the other. ‘ _Oh, dear God_ ,’ Chuck thought to himself realizing just how closely together their bodies were pressed. He heard a soft sniffle from Sarah as she turned around in his arms until they were spooning, her back pressed up against his chest, his hand falling over her waist as naturally as it did over the body of his guitar. This left his fingers laying on the bare skin between where her shirt had ridden up and the waistband of her panties, his fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns below her navel like they were plucking the strings of an instrument. At least their legs were no longer tangled together, but her bottom was now pressed up against him as much as her back was, which had the potential to create an even more awkward situation.

A moment later Sarah, now slowly waking, started to stretch her back which, to Chuck’s dismay, included twisting her hips to release the tension in her lower back. As if having her pressed up against him wasn’t problematic enough, the motion of her hips… Chuck let out a small whimper, trying to keep it together while enduring the most beautiful woman in the known universe practically writhing in his arms. He knew he had to do something to get the torture to stop so he slowly slid his hand from where it rested below her belly button over to rest on her hip, stalling the motion. “You really need to stop that, Baby,” He hummed in Sarah’s ear, “Before you start something we really don’t have the time to finish right now.”

“Hmm?” Sarah responded sleepily until their position, location, and situation came crashing down on her. She quickly rolled away from the close contact, “I am so sorry,” She flushed, “I didn’t mean to…”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Chuck assured her, pulling her into his arms until her head rested on his chest again, his fingers tracing patterns on her back. “Trust me I had no complaints, and I am sure you are now fully aware at just how interested I am. That being said, we only just met again, and I think it would be best if we took our time getting to know each other again. Go out on a few dates first, let you meet Ellie and Devon, maybe when it’s safe enough, let me meet Molly and your mom. And then when we are both able to fully commit to taking it to that level, we will.”

“Why are you so good to me, Charlie?” Sarah whispered, raising her face to look at him as he leaned up to press a kiss on her lips.

“With you, it just comes naturally,” He smiled warmly at her.

It was then that Sarah finally noticed the beeping and registered what it was. “Shit, that’s probably Graham looking for an update.”

“Tell you what, why don’t I go hop in the shower while you see what he wants?” Chuck suggested, sliding out of the bed, grabbing the pants, shirt, and tie he’d discarded the night before and heading toward the open bathroom door.

With a sigh, Sarah quickly grabbed her bra, a blouse, and a hair tie, quickly dressing her upper half and finger-brushing her hair back, securing it with the hair tie. She grabbed her laptop and set it on her lap, greeting her boss as if she wasn’t currently half naked.

“It’s about time, Walker,” Graham frowned.

“I’m sorry, I was up all night monitoring Mr. Bartowski,” She explained, I only just got back to my room a few hours ago. Your call woke me up.”

“I hear from Beckman that you and Major Casey have decided to not put the asset in a bunker?” Graham’s question came out more like a statement.

“That’s right, Sir,” Sarah nodded, “Since we do not know much about how the intersect program works, what triggers the release of information, add to that, Mr. Bartowski’s deep connection with his remaining family and friends, we feel it is prudent to allow him to maintain his established status quo so as to not add more stress to an already stressful situation..”

“Very well,” Graham nodded, “In that case, we will need to set up around the clock surveillance on him. We can install Casey in the BuyMore to keep an eye on him at work, but for after hours, it may be helpful to have you pose as his girlfriend so as to not arouse the suspicions of his family regarding your constant presence.”

“Understood,” Sarah agreed, secretly thrilled that Graham was doing exactly what she’d expected him to do, “It would also be in the best interest of all involved if Mr. Bartowski is compensated for his time. Now before you protest, some information has come to light that makes me question the situation surrounding his dismissal from Stanford University.”

“What kind of information?” Graham raised a questioning eyebrow.

“It appears, the professor who had him expelled for cheating his senior year was Professor George Flemming,” Sarah gave her director a meaningful look, “And the student who allegedly ‘found’ the answer key under Mr. Bartowski’s bed was Agent Larkin who, up until that point, was one of Mr. Bartowski’s closest friends. I believe there was more to those actions than may have originally met the eye.”

“I understand,” Graham nodded, “Is there a particular reason you feel it is necessary for the asset’s educational progress and conduct to undergo closer review?”

“Isn’t it a requirement of analysts to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher?” Sarah inquired, “Or am I mistaken?”

“Who said anything about making the asset an analyst?” Graham furrowed his brow.

“Director Graham, does the name ‘Piranha’ mean anything to you?” Sarah smirked, causing Graham’s eyebrows to shoot up in recognition.

“You have got to be kidding me with this Walker,” Graham groaned, “You can’t possibly expect me to believe that the asset is capable of the advanced coding that has been used by Piranha.”

“I saw it with my own eyes, Director,” Sarah gave a small shrug, “And Mr. Bartowski offered the information of his online persona to me freely, with no coercion or provocation. Why else would he know of that name?”

“He is a service technician, is he not?” Graham challenged.

“You and I both know Piranha wouldn’t be working at a public enough level for a simple service technician at a box store to be aware of him.” Sarah shook her head, “Hell, we only know about him because he told us he had been in our system and had repaired some security holes.”

“Would it help if I demonstrated?” Chuck asked from where he was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. His hair damp and curly, tie loose around his neck. It took everything in Sarah’s power to not blush at the sight.

“Who was that?” Graham’s voice could be heard from the laptop.

“That would be Mr. Bartowski, Sir.” Sarah advised, “After what happened last night, I thought it would be best to keep a close eye on him until we could set up some security protocols regarding his newfound abilities.”

Graham gave her an evaluating look at the explanation, seeing that Sarah did not squirm under his gaze, he gave a small nod of acceptance over her reasoning, “Very well, you are to take the asset to the L.A. field office so that he can ‘demonstrate’ for us. I will alert the Special Agent in Charge to allow you both access. Be there at 14:00.”

“Yes, Sir,” Sarah nodded, “Anything else?”

“That will be all for now,” Graham responded, “I will be in touch, until otherwise informed, proceed with the protocols and directions laid out in this briefing.”

“Understood, Sir,” Sarah nodded and disconnected the call. She took a deep breath and turned to Chuck, “Do you have any idea how distracting you are?” She challenged him, rising from the bed to place her laptop on a nearby table.

“About as distracting as you are in that get-up?” Chuck swallowed thickly, trying to not give too much attention to her long bare legs. “I know I’m probably gonna kick myself for this later, but could you please put some pants on or a skirt or something?”

“Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?” Sarah challenged, sauntering over to him, running her hands up his chest and looping his untied tie around her fingers pulling him down for a kiss. When she pulled back, she noticed the dazed expression on his face a wide smile on his lips. With a grin of her own, she crossed back to her suitcase, grabbed some clothes and headed toward the bathroom. “Gonna take a quick shower then we can swing by your place so you can change for our meeting, I doubt you want to go wearing your nerd herd uniform from yesterday.”

Chuck shook his head, clearing it after it had rebooted, “Uh, yeah, sounds good,” He called back as the door closed behind Sarah. Chuck sighed deeply as he sat on the end of Sarah’s bed, “Wow, clearly she still has the same effect on me she did when she was 16… But I can’t deny I like it.”

As he heard the shower turn on, he went to work tidying the room, making the bed, any little thing he could think of to get his mind off of his Jenny… naked… in the shower. ‘ _Get yourself under control, Bartowski’_ He mentally chided himself, ’ _Both Jenny and Ellie would kill you if they knew the thoughts that were running through your head right now._ ’

Moments later, the door swung open with a small release of steam to reveal Sarah, make up impeccably done, long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing the same conservative blouse she’d worn for the conference with a light grey A-line skirt that fell to her knees. She walked across the room barefoot, grabbing a pair of black pumps that lifted her to nearly eye level with Chuck. “Ready to go?”

“After you,” Chuck nodded, gesturing to the door. An internal battle waging as he followed her out, one side wanting to take it’s time appreciating just how good she’d looked in all states of dress and undress he’d seen her in that day, the other telling him that this was not the way his sister had raised him and he needed to be more respectful and stop blatantly objectifying his Jenny. There was also a small voice in the back of his head challenging him, saying that he could both appreciate her inner and outer beauty, while still respecting her.

“Were you just staring at my ass?” Sarah gave him a teasing look over her shoulder as they approached her Porsche and she unlocked it, walking around to the driver’s side door.

“Who, me?” Chuck stammered, “No, there was no ass… no ass staring going on over here.”

“Too bad,” She gave him a secretive smile as she slid into the car. The small voice in the back of his head joyfully taunted him ‘ _Told ya._ ” As he groaned and got into the car.


	3. Chapter 3

It didn’t take long to arrive at Echo Park, especially with Sarah driving. As Sarah was pulling into the complex’s parking lot, Chuck noticed his sister’s pale blue 1992 Chevy Corsica still in the lot. He knew that it didn’t mean much that the car was still there, as Ellie and Devon would drive into work together when they worked the same shift. He just couldn’t remember if this was one of those days. As they made their way toward the condo he shared with his sister and her boyfriend, Sarah could feel his hesitation.

“Charlie?” She looked up at him, watching the look of trepidation cross his face, “What’re you thinking?”

“I’m seriously debating climbing through my window, changing really quick and leaving again,” Chuck gave her a small smile. He took a deep breath, “But I know that would only make it worse when I finally showed myself… assuming Ellie is home.”

They took a few steps further before Chuck stopped them again, “Wait, if she is home, what’s the story? I can’t exactly tell her that my former best friend sent me government secrets that I somehow managed to download into my brain resulting in my weekend fling from senior year of high school, who is incidentally a C.I.A. agent like said former best friend, coming to protect me. Not only that, but the same smoking hot fling and I were instrumental in disabling a bomb and circumventing a plot to assassinate a US General.”

“Yeah, that might be a bit much,” Sarah snickered, earning her an unamused look from her not-so-cover boyfriend, “In these types of instances, sticking as close to the truth is best. Easier to remember down the line. Did you ever tell your sister about me?”

Chuck smirked, “Yeah, but I don’t know if I ever gave her your name…”

“Even if you had, it’s been so long that the discrepancy could be easily brushed off as her misremembering the name.” She shrugged, “So we can just tell her that we ran into each other at the store yesterday and decided to have dinner. We went back to my place for a movie that went late, I wasn’t up to driving because we’d had some wine, so you crashed at my place.”

“That actually doesn’t sound like a bad date,” Chuck gave a small shrug, “We should do it for real sometime.”

“I’d like that,” Sarah grinned up at him.

Chuck took a breath to steady his nerves before extending his hand to Sarah, who gave his hand a supportive squeeze, and continuing on to his front door. Before he could pull his keys out, the door swung open revealing Ellie.

“Where the hell have you been?” She demanded, “When you didn’t come home last night, I got worried. I even called Morgan, _Morgan_ , Chuck! He didn’t even know where you were, just babbled on something about a ‘smoking hot blond…’” She faded off, noticing the woman holding her younger brother’s hand.

“Sorry, Elle,” Chuck gave her his best repentant smile, “I got distracted.”

“I can see why,” His older sister took in the beautiful woman with Chuck, “But would it have killed you to answer your phone last night?”

“I forgot it in my locker, sis,” Chuck shrugged, “Are you gonna let us in? I promise we’ll explain.”

“Fine,” Ellie sighed, stepping aside and letting the couple pass by. She took one of the armchairs while Chuck and the woman took a seat on the sofa, it was clear whoever this woman was, her brother was clearly smitten. “Alright, you’re in, explain.”

“Ellie, I am so sorry I worried you,” Chuck reiterated, “Sarah came in yesterday, we hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and we decided to catch up. Wound up watching a movie at her place and after a few glasses of wine she wasn’t fit to drive, and I didn’t have the herder, so I crashed at her place.”

“Catch up?” Ellie looked confused, “I don’t remember you ever knowing a Sarah, is she a friend from Stanford?”

“A little further back than that, Sis,” Chuck gave Ellie a small smile, “Do you remember when I came back from that competition in San Diego and told you I’d met someone?”

“Yeah,” Ellie watched as her brother gestured to the woman beside him with his free hand.

“Meet Sarah,” Chuck smiled over at his companion, “We met at the beach during down time the morning that Morgan and I snuck out to go to ComicCon, I got bored and took the ferry to Coronado where I saw her playing her violin and recognized her from the competition. We were inseparable after that.”

“We’ll get back to the fact you snuck away in a minute,” Ellie gave her brother a stern look. “What I would like to know is if you were inseparable, how is it that Morgan didn’t recognize her?” Ellie challenged, “Surely he would have remembered you hanging out with a beautiful girl, even back then.”

“I think I can answer that,” Sarah broke in, “While we did spend a good portion of that first day together at the beach, Morgan was at the convention center on the other side of the bay.”

“We parted ways before I met up with Morgan again, so he didn’t meet her there,” Chuck added, “When we got back to the school for the semifinals, his section leader wanted to go over some stuff, so we went our separate ways again, Sarah and I spent the rest of that afternoon, aside from when our individual bands were playing, listening to the other schools as we got to know each other better.”

“Why do I get a feeling that was a euphemism for making out in the balcony of the auditorium?” Ellie arched an eyebrow at the blushing couple.

“It might have been,” Chuck admitted with a nervous laugh, “Morgan did meet her the next day during our lunch break and we sat together at the award ceremony.”

“In his defense, I did look a lot different back then,” Sarah admitted with a small shrug, “Frizzy hair, braces, hand-me-down clothes, it wasn’t pretty.”

“You were beautiful, even back then,” Chuck shook his head.

“You were the only one who ever thought so,” Sarah rolled her eyes, “At least until after I went to college and my roommate gave me a makeover. Even after guys started giving me more attention, I don’t think they ever saw past this,” She gestured to her physical appearance.

“That’s because they’re idiots.” Chuck shook his head.

“You two are perfect for each other,” Ellie grinned looking at the couple then looked at her watch, “I have to get to work, Sarah, it was nice to meet you. Chuck, next time, please take your phone with you. I’ll talk to you later about skipping out on Big Mike.”

“Oh, come on, Elle, it was nearly ten years ago!” Chuck protested, then sighed defeated knowing that he wasn’t going to get out of the reprimand from his sister even this long after the fact, “Well in the spirit of full disclosure, Sarah and I have plans today. Just came back to change, don’t know how long we’ll be.”

“Alright, I’ll see you later,” Ellie nodded, “Sarah, we try to have family dinners on Fridays. Usually Chuck, me and my boyfriend, usually Morgan shows up at some point,” She rolled her eyes at the mention of her brother’s best friend, “I would really like it if you could join us so we can get to know you better.”

“I’d love that,” Sarah nodded, “I don’t think I have any plans, I just moved here, and my work schedule is a bit up in the air at the moment.”

“I’ll see you then,” Ellie gave her a smile then, pulling her purse strap over her shoulder and grabbing her keys, headed out the door.

“Well that was less painful than I’d anticipated,” Chuck shrugged, getting up from the couch only to stop when the door flung open again and his sister entered, slugging him in the shoulder, “Geeze, Elle!”

“That’s for making me have to call Morgan,” She slugged his other shoulder, “And that’s for worrying me.” With that she turned on her heel, slamming the door behind her as she left.

“I like her,” Sarah chuckled at the glare her boyfriend was sending her way, “What? She’s got spunk.”

“I’ll give you spunk,” Chuck made a face, “Yeah, heard it as it was coming out of my mouth. I’m gonna go get dressed now. Judging by your attire, business casual?”

“Yeah,” Sarah nodded.

“Alright,” Chuck took a few steps towards his room before turning around, “Do you want to hang out here, or do you want to come in with me?”

“I’ll come with you,” She smiled at him, “I mean you already saw my room. Turnabout is fair play, Charlie.”

Chuck just rolled his eyes and gestured with a nod of his head for her to follow. When he opened the door, it was like stepping into a nerd’s paradise. Chuck had badges and tickets from multiple ComicCons hanging on the wall along with movie posters, collectors’ items, a low bookshelf held multiple fantasy novels and more than a few comics in protective sleeves, and a computer desk in the corner with a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. The compartment for the tower was still empty, causing Sarah to give him a guilty look, “I’m sorry about the computer, I promise the company will replace it.”

“I’d rather just get a check, if you don’t mind,” Chuck shrugged, “I don’t know if that’s possible or whatnot, but I like to build my computer to suit my needs. I can write up a price list or just buy the equipment and give you an invoice to send to whomever handles that kind of stuff for the C.I.A.”

“We can bring it up with Graham when we get to the field office.” Sarah advised, taking a seat on his bed and continuing to look around, she smiled a bit when she noticed the Tron poster on his wall. “That’s kind of a cool looking one,” She nodded toward the poster in question.

“Oh yeah, it came out a year or so after I was born,” Chuck explained as he sorted through his closet for an appropriate outfit, “It was my dad’s favorite movie, when I got older, it became mine too. He got me the poster on my last birthday before he left.”

After rummaging around his closet, he realized that he really didn’t have much in the way of business style clothes as he’d spent the last four years behind the desk at the BuyMore. “Um, slight problem, I don’t think I have anything other than my Nerd Herd uniform for office clothes.”

“Really?” Sarah looked over, “Do you mind if I take a look?”

“Go right ahead,” Chuck waved toward the closet and waited for her to take a look.

“What about this suit?” She held out a dark suit in a plastic drycleaner’s cover.

“Doesn’t fit,” Chuck shrugged, “It was my dad’s; I’m a bit taller than he was and he was a little broader in the shoulders.”

“Alright,” Sarah put the suit back in the closet and continued to look. A few moments later she came out with a pair of black pants which he usually wore for work and a light blue button-down shirt. “This should work, with…” She grabbed a tie with blue and grey alternating diagonal stripes, “This tie.”

“Thanks, Jen,” Chuck gave her a relieved smile, taking the clothes from her before going to a drawer, grabbing socks, a fresh pair of boxers, and an undershirt. “I’ll just go change into this.”

Sarah nodded and turned her attention back to the closet to find appropriate shoes for the outfit. As adorable as the chucks were that he wore, she thought, at least for his first time to the field office, he probably shouldn’t wear them, no matter how comfortable they were. She quickly found a pair of black oxfords in the back of his closet. By the time Chuck had returned, freshly shaved and changed, she was sitting back on his bed, pillows behind her back reading his old copy of ‘The Magician’s Apprentice.” At some point, she’d kicked off her heels and her bare feet were crossed at the ankle allowing him full view of her bright red pedicure.

“I loved that series when I was a kid,” Chuck smiled at her, causing her to look up at him as he took a seat on the bed and began to put on the shoes she had laid out for him with no complaint, “Did you ever read it?”

“No,” She shook her head, “I remember one night when I was waiting for my dad to get back from a job, I was flipping through the channels and came across the local Public Broadcasting Station. They were showing the BBC version of ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,’ I remember watching and crying when Mr. Tumnus came clean for what he was going to do to Lucy. I was just starting to realize what my dad and I were doing was wrong, and it really hit home. I was probably about 11 or 12 years old, had no idea how to get a hold of my mom or my grandma to come get me, assuming they even could.”

Chuck, who had just finished tying his shoes turned slightly, laying a hand on her leg, just below her right knee, rubbing it absentmindedly as he listened to her. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my dad, and loved our adventures,” Sarah amended, “But deep down I knew it was wrong. To be honest, sometimes I feel like that with this job.” She sighed.

Chuck didn’t say a word, just slid closer until he was sitting beside her and pulled her into his embrace. He felt her stiffen in his arms for a moment before letting her guard down and wrapping her arms around him, and for the first time in a long time, she allowed her walls to come down. They sat like that for a few minutes before Sarah sat back on the bed and noticed the wet spot on Chuck’s shoulder, it wasn’t until she felt him swipe his thumbs under her eyes that she realized that she had been the cause of the wet fabric.

“I’m sorry,” She gave him a sheepish look before turning away.

“Hey,” He caught her face in his hand and turned it back to him, “You never have to apologize to me for letting yourself feel, Jenny. I know you have to put up a strong front for your job and around others, but with me, you are safe to feel whatever you want. I will be your shoulder to cry on, your metaphoric punching bag if you need to let off some steam, especially when I am the cause of it. I want to share in your joy, your sadness, and everything in between.” He spoke softly, his intense hazel eyes never leaving hers, “Simply put, I will be here for you no matter what.”

“Are you sure you want to take that on?” She asked quietly, “I have a lot of baggage.”

“Just consider me your own personal baggage handler,” He made a face as he realized how corny what he’d just said was but shrugged and decided to stand by his statement. “Now, if you want to go wash your face before you go, you’re welcome to. If you need to touch anything up, Ellie has makeup in the cabinet under the sink. I’m sure she won’t mind parting with a little bit of it if you need it.”

“Thanks,” Sarah smiled up at him as he stood and offered his hand to her, “I’m sure I look a mess.”

“No, you’re beautiful,” Chuck stated. The open honesty in his voice and in his eyes was nearly her undoing… again. Giving him a small smile, she rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his smooth cheek before turning and heading down the hall to where he’d told her the bathroom was.

She found a stack of towels in one of the cabinets and grabbed a washcloth from the stack. Wetting it with cool water, she patted the fabric against her emotion-flushed face and neck until the redness subsided. A quick check in the mirror told her that, thankfully, little repair work was needed. It wasn’t hard to find Ellie’s makeup kit and the mascara stored within. A few quick swipes of the brush restored what her tears had washed away. Once everything was put away again, she went back to Chuck’s room to collect her shoes.

“Take a seat,” Chuck gestured to the bed, kneeling beside it as she did so, “I’ve wanted to do this since my mom first read Cinderella to me as a kid.” She looked at him curiously as he picked up one shoe and then the other, gently sliding each shoe onto its proper foot.

“You don’t have some kind of foot fetish, do you?” She teased him.

“No,” He chuckled, “Just a whim.”

“You are a strange man, Charles Bartowski,” She gave him an amused smile as he stood and lifted her to her feet.

“Meh,” He shrugged, an adorable half smile on his lips, “Normal is overrated.”

“Alright, Mr. Abby Normal,” Sarah teased, “Let’s get going before we’re late.”

Chuck just stared at her, “Did you just make a pop culture reference?”

“What?” She gave him an innocent look, “I happen to like Gene Wilder.”

“You are truly an enigma, Jenny,” Chuck shook his head bemusedly as he grabbed his messenger bag, wallet, and keys and followed her out the door.

“And you are one of the few that know it, Charlie,” She teased back, unlocking the doors of her Porsche and waiting for Chuck to dash around her to open her door for her. She’d thought about racing him to it when she realized that he opened doors for her every time, but she had to admit, she kinda liked the chivalry of it all.

It took nearly 45 minutes in L.A. traffic to arrive at the L.A. field office, even with Sarah’s balls to the wall driving style. Sarah’s credentials allowed them to enter through the employee entrance, but they still needed to pass the employee security checkpoint which took some time due to the small cache of weapons that Sarah carried on her person that had to be systematically removed and registered in the system. Chuck just stared in wide-eyed amazement as she pulled one item after the other from their concealed locations to the point that he wondered how she hid it all. Finally, once Sarah had rehidden every gun and knife on her person, they continued on.

They were met by the Special Agent in Charge of the field office, who led them to a small conference room where a computer terminal had been set up outside of the internal server and the video conference system was ready and available for the call. After shaking both Chuck and Sarah’s hands and commending them on their handling of the bomb at the security conference the previous day. They both humbly nodded their acknowledgement and settled into the conference room. Moments later, Casey joined them, huffing at the inconvenient C.I.A. security.

“Of course, I carry a weapon,” He groused, “It’s like they’ve never heard of the second amendment? I’m an agent of the N.S.A. for God’s sake, I’m gonna be armed!”

“If you are quite finished, Major,” Langston raised an eyebrow at the Marine officer. The two agents and potential asset hadn’t noticed when he’d initiated the video conference midway through Casey’s rant.

“Yes, Sir,” Casey nodded.

“As discussed, this morning with Agent Walker, it was suggested that we utilize Mr. Bartowski as an analyst rather than an asset due to his unique set of skills.” Langston began, “We have some of our top cyber security specialists, who are familiar with recent hacker activity, on standby to monitor Mr. Bartowski’s progress through the designated server. They will then let us know whether or not his claim of being Piranha is true.”

“How are we to proceed?” Sarah inquired.

“There is an envelope next to the computer with the target and directions for Mr. Bartowski’s goal. How he goes about obtaining the goal, is his prerogative.” Graham informed them. “Once his task has been completed, the analysts will review the data and once the validity of Mr. Bartowski’s claim can be proven; we will make the decision whether or not to offer him a position as analyst. Mr. Bartowski, do you understand?”

“Yes, Director Graham, I understand,” Chuck nodded and took a seat at the computer terminal that had been set up for his evaluation and set his messenger bag on a chair next to him. He booted up the computer and picked up the manila envelope that was sitting to the left of the keyboard. Withdrawing the sheet detailing what he was to do, he red it over, nodded his understanding of the parameters, and slipped the paper back into the envelope and got to work. The first step was to break the password encryption on the computer itself. After locating a port, he reached into his messenger bag and pulled out what looked to be a small thumb drive and slid it into one of the USB ports on the front of the tower. When the device’s LED light turned blue, he pulled out his cell phone and pressed a few buttons. The light on the device began to blink as a text box popped up on the computer screen as an algorithm sorted through the various permutations of access codes for the computer. A few short minutes later, the computer beeped, and the home screen appeared.

Chuck beamed over the success, Casey scowled, the technicians back at Langley as well as the agents in the LA Field Office shared looks of awe, disbelief, and respect for the asset’s skills. Graham’s face gave away nothing, while Sarah did her best to hide the look of pride that threatened to push its way to the surface of her carefully controlled agent mask. They all watched on as Chuck pulled up a browser and went to work in earnest.

“This would be a lot easier if I had bottle of Rombauer,” Chuck muttered softly as the breached the first firewall and started in on the second, “But you all probably frown on drinking on the clock huh?” His eyes momentarily went from the screen in front of him to look at the individuals around the room as well as Director Graham, none of whom reacted to his quip. “No matter, I can make do without it.” He shrugged before putting his head down and focusing once more on what he was doing. Anyone watching the screen could see the various text boxes that Chuck cycled through to achieve his goal. The whole exercise only took about 15 minutes, start to finish, which was on the longer side of what Chuck preferred to stay in a system. This was so as to avoid too much attention to himself. As he was pulling out of the system, he caught a few data errors which could lead to terrible breaches in the security of the system he’d hacked by other, less scrupulous hackers. He quickly patched the breaches and, in true Piranha form, sent an anonymous email to the webmaster pointing out the error and how he’d fixed it along with instructions on how to repair similar issues. A scant few moments later, he was fully out of the system, and a moment beyond that, out of the computer entirely.

“Impressive, Mr. Bartowski,” Graham spoke, his deep voice giving nothing away, “We will have our analysts review the exercise and get back to you and your handler once they find conclusive evidence you are who you say you are. Until then, your team is on standby.”

“Understood, Director,” Sarah nodded.

Graham disconnected the video call and the two agents, and their asset, made their way out of the building, leaving the IT staff to disassemble the terminal. Casey muttered something about needing to finalize security protocols and practically ran to his Crown Vic once they exited the building. Chuck and Sarah made their way to Sarah’s Porsche at a more sedate rate. Sarah gave Chuck a warm smile as he opened the door for her and held it while she got into the vehicle before closing the door and rounding the front of the car to the passenger side and sliding in himself.

“So, what now?” Chuck inquired.

“Now, it’s just a waiting game,” Sarah shrugged, turning over the ignition, “Hopefully it won’t take the analysts more than a few days to review the data and give their ruling to Graham.”

“So, what you’re saying is that we probably won’t be hearing back from him today?” Chuck smiled expectantly at her. When Sarah nodded, his grin widened, “So, since my sister is under the impression that we are spending the day together, why don’t we actually spend the day together? Maybe catch a movie, get something to eat? We never did have a real date back then or since.”

“I’m up for that,” Sarah smiled warmly at him, “Did you have anything particular in mind, Charlie?”

“The newest Jason Bourne film just came out a month or so ago,” Chuck suggested, when Sarah gave him a blank look, he quickly explained the premise of the film only to be met with a grimace from his cover girlfriend, “Got it, no spy flicks. We could see the new Underworld movie, it’s about a badass woman who battles warewolves, vampries, and…” Her look cut him off, “Alright so, that’s a no, too.” He sighed.

“Sorry, my life has just been so intense lately, I’m really not wanting to watch something intense right now,” She sighed.

“Okay, lighthearted, I think we can do,” Chuck nodded, “There’s a live action version of the cartoon Underdog that just came out, and Mr. Bean has a film out…”

“I love Rowan Atkinson!” Sarah grinned, “I spent a lot of time in Europe and had a lot of down time, caught a few televised performances of his stand up and Mr. Bean routines, he is hilarious!”

“Remind me to introduce you to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton someday,” Chuck smirked at her. “There’s a theatre a few blocks from the Santa Monica Pier. We can go check out show times, maybe get a bit to eat, I hear they just opened an Orange Orange in the shopping district there.”

“Sounds fun, but first, we should probably change,” She advised, pulling into a nearby service station.

“Change?” Chuck gave her a puzzled look, “Into what? I didn’t bring a change of clothes.”

“I know, but I took care of it for you when you were in the shower.” She grinned, stepping out of the car and opening the trunk, tossing a small duffel at him when he joined her, “A good spy always has a go bag ready to go. I’ll teach you later how to pack one, but for now go change.”

Chuck simply rolled his eyes and nodded before ducking into the service station’s men’s room. By the time he’d returned, wearing a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved brown t-shirt under a green and white striped button down that was rolled up at the elbows and left unbuttoned, Sarah had likewise changed. She had let down her hair which now fell in waves over her shoulders and was now wearing tan capris, a lilac blouse, and a pair of brown low-top converse. “Neither movie starts for an hour or so, so I thought we could walk around a little, window shop?”

“Alright,” Chuck nodded, tossing his duffel into the open trunk next to Sarah’s and closing the trunk before joining her in the car to complete their journey to the Downtown Santa Monica shopping district. After purchasing their tickets, they found the Orange Orange a block down and enjoyed some Mango Madness before taking their time looking at a few of the stores and, eventually, making their way to the theatre to enjoy the rest of their afternoon watching British comedy while eating popcorn with milk duds sprinkled over it and large sodas.

While Chuck and Sarah were enjoying their non-spy time, the analysts back at Langley were working full bore, evaluating Chuck’s code line by line. They’d originally thought it would take at least 24 hours to render analysis on the coding, but in less than three, they had their answer. It came in the form of an email stating what had been patched, at the same time, an analyst had been looking over the codes and started laughing out loud, catching everyone’s attention. When his supervisor and peers inquired as to what was so funny, he turned his monitor and pointed to the line of code which read ‘It’s really me guys. – Piranha’


	4. Chapter 4

A few days had passed since Chuck’s demonstration and the ‘team’ was starting to get antsy at the lack of information coming from the powers that be. To make matters worse, or at the very least more nerve-wracking, was that it was Friday. The whole Bartowski-Woodcomb family were off that day which meant that Family Dinner night was a go. During the rare moments that Chuck was at home, Ellie had been grilling him on Sarah’s favorite foods, if she had allergies or aversions to any types of food. She was determined to make this meal as perfect as she could.

“Chuck,” Ellie called as he walked past the kitchen, hoping that his swift pace would allow him to slip past his manic older sister.

He let out a soft groan before retracing his steps until he stood just outside of the archway to the kitchen where his sister stood, cookbook out on the counter, “Yeah, Sis?”

“Are you sure roast with vegetables is alright for dinner tomorrow?” She inquired, eyes darting from the cookbook to her brother, nervously, “I could make something else, there’s still time for me to get something else, how does Sarah fell about salmon?”

“Ellie, you’re spiraling,” Chuck rolled his eyes, “The pot roast is fine, Morgan doesn’t call it your magic pot roast for nothing. And you know I trust the little bearded man’s opinion on any and all food not involved in ‘Mystery Crisper.’”

Ellie rolled her eyes, “I just want it to be perfect. This is the girl you have been pining after for ten years.”

“Ellie, I promise you, Sarah will like pretty much anything you make,” Chuck assured his sister, “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get changed.” He then set off down the hall to change out of his nerd herd uniform.

He had just pulled on his shirt when his phone began to ring and vibrate on his bedside table. Lifting the phone, he saw his girlfriend’s name displayed, flipping open the phone, he smiled, “Hey beautiful; are you looking forward to tonight as much as I am?”

“Kinda, I’m a little nervous,” She hedged, “But that’s not the reason I called, Graham got your results back. He wants to have a conference call to go over the results. Can you meet at Casey’s in about 20 minutes?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Chuck agreed, “Wait, where is Casey staying?”

“He moved into the two-story townhome that was vacant near the entrance to your courtyard.” Sarah explained.

“That explains the team of movers that took over yesterday.” Chuck murmured.

He heard Sarah chuckle over the line, “Yeah, that would have been it. I’ll see you soon.”

“Alright see you then.” Chuck flipped his phone closed as the call disconnected. Walking into the kitchen, he saw his sister cutting up the vegetables for the roast. “Hey sis.”

“Hey Sweetie,” She smiled at him over her shoulder, “What can I help you with?”

“Nothing, I was just wondering if you could spare me for an hour or so,” Chuck shrugged as he leaned up against the archway to the kitchen, “My new coworker, Casey moved in across the courtyard and wanted some help assembling some bookshelves. Shouldn’t take too long.”

“That should be fine,” Ellie assured him, “This thing will take a couple hours to cook, just make sure you are back before Sarah gets here.”

“Gotcha,” Chuck nodded, “I promise to be back in time.” He kissed his sister’s cheek and headed out the door toward Casey’s new place. When he knocked on the door, he was relieved to see Sarah answering the door rather than the gruff N.S.A. agent. 

“Come on in, Chuck,” She smiled up at him, leading him into Casey’s sparsely decorated apartment. In the living area sat a recliner with a side table and a large screen television. Chuck was just about to comment on the bare-bones furnishings when the screen came to life showing a redheaded woman in a USAF Brigadier General’s uniform who sat at a large oak desk. Behind her stood Langston Graham who was bent over slightly to be able to be seen by the camera.

“Good evening Major Casey, Agent Walker,” The General greeted them, “Mr. Bartowski, allow me to introduce myself. I am General Diane Beckman, I am an assistant director with the N.S.A. specifically, I am the military liaison for the intersect project.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, General,” Chuck replied congenially, only to earn a blank look from the two agency heads.

“You have caused quite a stir here in Washington,” Beckman continued, “First downloading the intersect into yourself then your claims that you are an infamous hacker that the N.S.A. has been attempting to track down, unsuccessfully I might add, for nearly two decades.”

“Our analysts at the C.I.A. as well as the N.S.A. have gone over the results of your evaluation,” Graham jumped in, “They are convinced, some immediately so, that you are, indeed, the Piranha. That matter was settled within hours of your evaluation, the delay in getting back to you lay primarily with your and Agent Walker’s allegations that you were unfairly expelled from Stanford.”

Chuck waited for their verdict, his face doing nothing to hide the nerves he felt. “While we are still reviewing your transcripts and academic history, I personally reached out to Professor Fleming as he reports directly to me.” Graham rolled his eyes, “To say he was evasive when questioned is an understatement. If his reaction is an indication, I’m inclined to believe that you were the victim of a plot to get you expelled, but if that is the case, I doubt he came up with the plan. In actuality, he may have been the means by which your expulsion was enacted, but not the source of the ploy.”

“Oh boy,” Chuck groaned.

Beckman and Graham paused a fraction of a second, not enough to be noticed by Chuck, but enough that it caught the attention of their subordinates. They had known someone in the not so distance past who used that turn of phrase fairly frequently, enough that it was frequently associated with them. Seeing as they had gone off grid over 15 years prior, neither agency head wanted to give it too much thought, brushing the phrase off as coincidence.

“Mr. Bartowski, based on these preliminary findings, we are prepared to offer you a position as a field analyst under the banner of the N.S.A,” Beckman picked up the conversation once more, “This will be on a trial basis, and subject to review once the final results come back or when the Intersect is removed from your head, whichever comes first. No matter what, if we are able to remove the program, your position will be reviewed at that time. A formal employment offer will be extended to you along with legal documentation which you are to sign and return to Major Casey to be filed with the local field office.”

“For the time being, you will continue to maintain your position at the BuyMore,” Graham advised, “Major Casey will be joining you there as a member of the sales staff.”

A disgruntled grunt could be heard from the N.S.A. agent which was met with a disapproving look from his superior officer, causing the man to quickly apologize. 

“Furthermore, Mr. Bartowski, depending on the results of the inquiry as to the events surrounding our expulsion, you may need to complete your education, up and including retaking your final semester.” General Beckman informed him, “This may also include having to relocate to Palo Alto for the duration of said semester. Agents Casey and Walker, this will mean you will be relocated with him. We will review your covers at that time, if relocation is deemed necessary.”

“I understand,” Chuck nodded, “Thank you for that, I appreciate it.”  
Beckman almost smiled at the younger man’s earnest response, only her own spy training allowed her to keep her face neutral. Despite the way the man came into possession of the Intersect, she couldn’t help but be impressed with him. It was clear from the reports she had received from Major Casey as well as the redacted version of Agent Walker’s report that the C.I.A allowed her to see, that with or without the intersect he would have proven to be a skilled asset to the clandestine community. She only wished they’d figured out who he was before a particular C.I.A. recruit had taken it upon himself to disqualify Bartowski from consideration for project Omaha, which would have been the likely recruitment track connected to George Flemming at that point in time. If that were the case, the original intended recipient of the Intersect data base now had the programming downloaded in his head. 

“Until we reach a final decision regarding Mr. Bartowski’s utilization status on the team, none of you are to leave town,” Beckman instructed, receiving head nods in triplicate as a response, “Very well, we will be in touch.” With that, she disconnected the video link.

“That was rather abrupt,” Chuck commented to his erstwhile handlers.

“She is a very busy woman, Bartowski, she doesn’t have time for niceties,” Casey grunted.

“Sad to say, it’s a pretty typical behavior for the directorates of the clandestine agencies,” Sarah shrugged, “Well I suppose all there is left to do is wait until the inquiry is completed and we receive the final decision of the review boards for Stanford, the C.I.A, and the N.S.A. Until then, we have a dinner we need to get to.”

Chuck glanced at his watch, eyes widening in surprise when he realized how much time had passed in the briefing, “You’re right, we probably should be on our way.”

Casey, who had been invited just that morning, stated that he would be over in a little bit, as he had some things he needed to finish up in the apartment. Sarah was read to go, on their way out the door, she paused momentarily to grab a bottle of red wine from a shelf near the door. “My grandma always taught me it is polite to bring something for the hostess when invited to dinner.” She explained at the curious look she received from her cover boyfriend.  
Chuck nodded his understanding and led her across the courtyard and into his home. Ellie was still in the kitchen putting together some salad as she waited for the roast to finish baking. “Hey sis, look who I found wandering about near the fountain,” He called as he shut the door behind himself and Sarah.  
Ellie looked up at the sound of her brother’s voice, eyes widening when she caught sight of the, beautiful was too tame of a word for her, woman on her brother’s arm. Pausing to wipe her hands off on a kitchen towel, she walked toward the pair. “Sarah,” Ellie smiled at the younger woman, “I’m so glad you could come!”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Sarah returned Ellie’s smile, “I’ve heard so many good things about your cooking.” Almost as if remembering it was in her hands, she held the bottle of wine aloft between herself and Ellie, “I brought over some wine for you, I wasn’t sure what you were making, but it’s been my experience that a good Cabernet goes with pretty much anything.”

“I wholeheartedly agree,” Ellie beamed, accepting the wine from Sarah, “Chuck why don’t you give her the five-cent tour while I finish the prep work? Devon ran to the store to pick up some rolls as I forgot to make any and don’t have time now, he should be back soon and then we can eat.”

“Sounds good,” Chuck nodded and began to show Sarah around, starting in the living areas which encompassed the living room, dining room, and kitchen before leading her down the hall. He pointed out the bathroom and the door on the far end of the hall that led to Ellie and Awesome’s room, before finally opening a door across and a few feet down from the bathroom. Of course, she had been in the room before, earlier that week when she tried to recover Chuck’s computer, and briefly a few days before to help him select some clothes, but she hadn’t really taken the time to really look around. A large king bed sat up against the wall to the side of the door. A bookshelf was along the adjacent wall over which hung a framed TRON poster. Next to the poster hung a corkboard upon which was mounted various badges and passes for ComiCon. In the corner was a computer desk which held nearly everything someone would need for a desktop computer, save the tower.

“Sorry about your computer, Charlie,” Sarah gave him an apologetic smile when she noticed the computer desk, “They are currently trying to put together the best computer they can get for you, considering your considerable skills.”

“Yeah, well, if it’s all the same, I’d rather put together my own computer and be reimbursed for the expense.” Chuck shrugged, “Might wind up being a little faster.”

“You have a point, I’ll run it by Graham in the morning. It’s late in D.C. now.” Sarah reply was answered with a comprehending nod from her not-so-cover boyfriend. Her gaze continued to sweep around the room until she noticed something she hadn’t before. Sitting in a comfortable looking chair was his guitar,   
“You still have it?” She couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Of course, I still have it,” Chuck smiled, “Still play a little here and there, too. Gave up the flute once I got to college, but the guitar stuck with me. Besides a guitar is much cooler for a college guy to carry around than a flute case. Can you imagine the reaction I would have gotten when I rushed Gamma Delta Phi if I was still playing flute?”

“Wait, you were a frat guy?” Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Where do you think I met Bryce?” Chuck challenged her, “Okay, maybe that isn’t quite accurate, we met freshman year and rushed together.”

“Bryce’s idea, I’m guessing?” She snickered when Chuck gave a small shrug and nodded, “Figured. I can easily see Bryce as a frat guy. You a little less so.”

“Actually, our frat was pretty well populated with nerds, Bryce and myself included,” Chuck shrugged, “A lot of engineering and computer science guys. We weren’t the typical jock frat stereotype that is perpetuated by movies and TV.”

“Did you like it?” She asked, “I had already been recruited to the CIA by the time I was sent to Harvard…”

“Wait,” Chuck interrupted, “You went to Harvard?”

“Yeah, that’s where the agency sent me after Graham fast tracked my high school education.” Sarah shrugged, “I earned a bachelor’s in international Relations, with a minor in linguistics. My programs were pretty focus intensive, not to mention Graham had me running minor ops while I was in school. On top of which I was still a bit of a loner, so I never really had the time or opportunity to get involved with a sorority, so I’m just a bit curious about that kind of thing.”

“It was like living in a dorm made up of all your best friends,” Chuck shrugged, “I really liked it, at least I did until Bryce did what he did. I still talk with some of my old Frat buddies, despite my expulsion technically also excommunicating me from the frat, most of them refuse to speak to Bryce, or would if there had been a way to get a hold of him. No one believed his allegation that he found the test key under my bed, they were pretty much all of the mind that it was a setup. Something many of them stated they would attest to… had my expulsion gone through the tribunal the way it was supposed to.”

“So, they didn’t even follow policy for expulsions when you were kicked out?” Sarah’s eyebrows raised.

“Nope,” Chuck sighed, taking a seat on his bed, “From the moment I stepped into Fleming’s office, was accused of cheating, informed of my expulsion, and forced to pack and vacate my room at the frat, was no more than 6 or 7 hours. I mean I woke up that morning a Stanford Engineering student who was on track to graduate in less than two months with high honors, and by midnight that same day I’d been expelled from school, packed up and evicted from my frat, and back in this room living with my sister wondering where things went wrong.”

“Right now, I really wish Bryce wasn’t already dead,” Sarah groaned, sitting next to him and laying her head on his shoulder as she entwined the fingers of her right hand with that of his left to comfort him, “Because if anyone deserved a slow and painful death, he is a top contender only being barely beat out by Ryker, if only by a hair.”

“I appreciated your righteous anger on my behalf,” Chuck squeezed her hand, “But it would have made no difference. From what Director Graham and General Beckman said today, it’s possible, that situation might be able to be rectified. Even if I do have to go back to finish the semester, this whole mess would still be worth it to me. Had Bryce not gotten me kicked me out and then sent me this thing, I would never have met you again.”

“I hate that you are making sense with this,” Sarah groaned, “Now I don’t want to bring him back to life for the sole purpose of killing him again.”

“Maybe we should focus these energies on more positive pursuits,” Chuck suggested, causing Sarah to give him a questioning look. “For example, tracking down Ryker and bringing him to justice?”

“By any means necessary?” Sarah gave him a hopeful look.

“By legal-ish means,” Chuck corrected.

“What’s the ‘-ish?’” Sarah quirked an eyebrow.

“It may involve me, a computer with internet access, and a bit of the typety, typety.” Chuck shrugged. “We should try to keep the operation as legal as possible so as to reduce any loopholes that might widen enough for him to slip through. If, and only if, capturing and incarcerating him becomes unfeasible, then we can entertain alternative means.”

“And by alternate means you mean…” Sarah looked up at him.

“I will leave that to your discretion,” Chuck admitted.

“I think you know what my choice would be,” Sarah gave him a sly smile as she lifted the hem of her blue shirt just enough for the garter sheath attached to her thigh to be seen.

“I don’t know if I am more scared or turned on right now,” Chuck muttered.

“Maybe split the difference,” Sarah quipped as she rose to her feet and, straddling his hips with her knees, sat herself down on his lap facing him as she wound her hands up into his hair and brought his lips down to hers.

“So hot,” Chuck hummed, deepening the kiss as one arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer as his other hand rested just under the hem of her dress on the thigh not bearing the sheath.

“Hey Chuck…” A deep voice came from the door frame, humor lacing the words as the speaker saw what was going on, “Girl on top, awesome.”  
Chuck and Sarah paused their make-out session, Sarah resting her forehead on Chuck’s shoulder muttering, in great detail, what she would like to do to the next person who got in the way of what she wanted. Chuck ran the hand that was holding her waist up and down her back to calm her down as he turned to his sister’s boyfriend, “Was there something you needed, Devon?”

Devon’s eyebrows shot up, Chuck never called him Devon unless he was serious or upset with him. “Uh, Elle said that dinner is just about ready, so you might want to start making your way to the living room, if you are done giving Sarah the, ahem, nickel tour. John just got here too, brought over quiche, he’s a pretty awesome dude for a guy who communicates primarily in grunts. Is he former military? He looks like some of the veterans who are sent over from the VA on occasion.”

“I think he’s a marine reservist,” Chuck shrugged, “Um, Awesome, do you mind stepping out so we can get ourselves straightened out a bit? I promise we’ll be out in a minute.”

“Right, of course,” Devon nodded, “Just don’t take too long. I mean I love your sister and all, but she scares me sometimes.”

“Me too, Awesome, me too,” Chuck agreed and watched as his ersatz brother-in-law exited the room, closing the door behind him, before he returned his attention to his girlfriend. “Baby as tempting as I know it is sometimes, you cannot kill, dismantle, or otherwise maim the members of my family.”

“I know,” Sarah huffed, climbing off her boyfriend’s lap and straightening her dress and hair, “It just seems like whenever we get going there is some kind of interruption.”

Almost as if on cue, a knock sounded on Chuck’s bedroom window, causing them to turn and see Morgan opening the window to climb in, “Okay, that was just too perfect,” Chuck snickered as he heard his girlfriend growl low in her throat, only to be calmed when he stood and pulled her into his arms, kissing her head to calm her down as he turned toward his best friend who had no idea how close to death he was treading. “I’m a little busy here, buddy, is there something I can help you with?”

“Well, I was just peddling by and smelled Ellies magic pot roast and thought I would join you guys.” Morgan shrugged, stepping into the room.

“Morg, I don’t think that is such a good idea,” Chuck protested, “I mean this is kind of a ‘meet the family’ type dinner for Sarah and I and John Casey somehow got himself invited on top of it. Adding you to the mix may be a bit much.”

“Right, of course,” Morgan nodded as if understanding, “I’ll just run it past Ellie,” with that, he was out the door, making it clear he was so far off the mark, especially when Ellie’s voice echoed through the house.

“Chuck!” She hollered from the kitchen, causing Chuck to roll his eyes.

“I guess that’s my cue.” He sighed and started toward the door, only to be stopped by Sarah who set his shirt to rights and pressed soft kiss to his lips.

“For luck,” She explained before taking his hand and walking back to the main living area along side him to meet the night together.  
When they got to the dining room, Ellie was clearly agitated, the hand holding her wine glass was clearly shaking. “What can I do for you, Elle?” Chuck feigned ignorance.

“You could start by explaining why the hobbit is in my home, begging to be fed, like a little bearded Oliver Twist.” She growled.

“Sorry, sis, I tried to explain to him that this was a special dinner, but that only encouraged him to want to stay more,” Chuck shrugged, “If you didn’t make enough to be able to include him, I can try to send him on his way…”

He knew that would work, and it did as his sister huffed and rolled her eyes, directing Devon to grab a spare chair from the office and grabbed another place setting for the table. “Fine, he can stay, but just this once.”

“Of course, Ellie,” Chuck nodded, knowing that ‘just this once’ had already happened multiple times over the years without any sign of the events leading to such a decree, ceasing in the near future. The rest of the night passed without major incident. It was clear that Sarah had quickly been accepted by Ellie and Awesome into their little ragtag family. Although it was clear that Morgan was more than a little jealous of Chuck and Sarah’s connection, but even he couldn’t deny she was a good fit. John was even able to contribute to the conversation in actual words rather than the grunts he was rapidly becoming known for.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long month for the team as well as the C.I.A. and N.S.A. heads they worked for. Graham had allowed Beckman full control of the team as he looked into the matter that led to the intersect’s expulsion from Stanford and it took nearly two weeks to get Fleming to admit that the accusation of cheating that was made was a conspiracy that had been instigated by then agent-in-training Larkin. All in some misguided attempt at invalidating Mr. Bartowski’s test scores to as to take him off the C.I.A.’s recruitment track. What made it worse was that Bartowski was the most promising candidate for the Omaha project.

Langston Graham had also been seeing the dailies and mission reports coming out of the newly established Burbank team. No one could deny their success rate, even if the way that success was brought about was unorthodox, at best. It still baffled him as to how Mr. Bartowski had avoided being killed by la Ciudad by claiming that he’d only gone to the art auction to impress a girl. There was also another side report informing them of information regarding a matter that was passed along to a grateful S.E.C. who had previously been having trouble tracking the embezzlement perpetrated by one Allan Waterman who had been successfully apprehended and was now awaiting trial. To think, they could have had access to this kind of information years ago was enough to make the usually stoic director want to exhume Larkin’s body wherever it now rested and kill him again.

Even more impressive was how quickly the team in Burbank was able to apprehend an escaped asset, a gadget designer they’d employed for over a decade now, who had inexplicably snapped, killing his handlers. To say that sociopathic as an apt descriptor for the man would be underselling the point. Thankfully, Bartowski had managed to gain the asset’s trust enough to figure out the man wasn’t as sane and sheltered as he was trying to portray. Sure, things went sideways as they often do, but in the unique method the new ragtag team was known for, they were able to prevent a major catastrophe and arrest the asset once more. Instead of being sent back to a bunker, the man was now being held in a high security governmental psyche ward.

As impressed as he was with the team, it didn’t negate the fact that a wrong had been perpetrated against Mr. Bartowski and Graham was determined to rectify it so the young man could be officially offered a contract, although he and Beckman were still debating over who would extend the contract. All that stood between them and the ability to officially make the offer is the ruling from the Dean of Students.

Graham had been sitting in his office when he received a contact signal from Stanford. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the Dean as Graham had hoped, but an emergency beacon from none other than Professor Fleming. Seems the man couldn’t help but make bad decisions as of late and had copied some intel and wans now going to ground. The closest team he had to campus was the Intersect team, and much as he would have preferred to send another team, the fact of the matter was they were the best team to send. Not only did Bartowski and Fleming know each other, but they were geographically the closest, and then you factor in their remarkable success rate and the decision had been made before it was even considered.

The C.I.A. Director let out a sigh as he dialed the number for Beckman to update her on the situation before calling Walker to inform her of the briefing. He knew he was bound to get some pushback from Mr. Bartowski, considering the unresolved issues involved, but he sincerely hoped that the younger man’s handlers could keep him in line during the operation. What was helpful was that the campus was going to be swarmed with not only Stanford but UCLA student and alumni who were going to be there for the football game, which would give the team the cover they would need to be able to operate to their fullest potential.

* * *

“No, nope, not gonna happen,” Chuck shook his head, “Good luck to you though.”

“Oh, come on, Bro,” Devon protested, “Wouldn’t it be awesome to visit the ‘ol alma matter?”

“No, Awesome, it would not,” Chuck huffed, “They kicked me out for something that I didn’t do, remember that?”

“Would you at least consider it?” Ellie pleaded with him.

“You only want to go so you aren’t stuck alone in a van with Awesome and his frat buddies,” Chuck countered.

“That’s not…” She started only to be met with a flat look from her younger brother, “Okay, yes, fine, but I think it would be really good for you to go back. You used to love gloating when Stanford won.”

“I’m not just interested in going, Elle,” Chuck shook his head and walked off. As he entered the house, his phone lit up to show the smiling face of his favorite person. Her grin bringing one to his face as well. “Hi Jenny.”

“Hey Charlie,” He could tell by the tone of her voice something was up. “Can you meet us at Casey’s in a half an hour?”

“Sure,” Chuck nodded, making his way through the apartment to his room, “Is there something wrong?”

“I’m not sure, I just got a call from Graham informing us that he wanted to brief us on a situation that could use our attention.”

“What like a mission?” Chuck gasped excitedly as he took a seat on his bed, “You’re actually gonna let me go on a mission?”

“Don’t get too excited,” He could almost hear the rolling of her eyes, “It may just be a way to test your usefulness as an analyst. You could very well be stuck at a computer or in the van the whole time.”

“Hey, I can do that,” Chuck grinned, “Computers are my thing, Baby, and if we’re in the van, I can make a great mix CD to help pass the time.”

He could hear her giggle on the other end of the line, the sound music to his ears, “Slow down, just come to Casey’s and hear what Graham and Beckman have for us before you get too excited.”

“Fine,” He let out an exaggerated sigh, “I’ll see you in a half hour.”

“I’ll see you then, Charlie,” With that, she hung up the phone.

Much to Chuck’s relief, Awesome and Ellie had gone to the store to grab provisions for the upcoming weekend and the tailgating they were planning to do, which made getting over to Casey’s without raising suspicion a bit easier. When he raised his hand to knock, the door flew open and a strong hand gripped his wrist and pulled him inside, slamming the door behind him.

“You’re late, numb-nuts,” Casey grunted.

“What do you mean late?” Chuck protested, “I was told a half an hour and I showed up in less time than that.”

“You’re late if you aren’t here by the time the directors start the video call,” The older man growled under his breath, nodding toward the monitor that showed Directors Graham and Beckman.

A moment later, the front door swung open and closed again as Sarah made her way into the apartment. She gave a small waive to Chuck before turning toward the monitor, “I’m sorry, Director, I thought you said a half an hour.”

“I did,” Graham nodded, raising an eyebrow for her to protest further. Once he was assured that none was coming, he continued on, “We received an emergency transmission from a company scientist in your area that we need you to follow up on.” He then proceeded to play a recording of someone who identified himself as Glass Castle addressing someone using the code name Black Coat. The man went on to say he’d made a copy of some information and now someone was after him.

Chuck’s eye’s widened at the voice on the recording, “I know that voice. Isn’t that Professor Fleming?”

“It is,” Beckman confirmed, “We don’t know what other idiotic venture he’s gotten himself mixed up in, but whatever it is, we are trusting your team to find out.”

“You are to head up to Stanford and make contact with Fleming, we will send you the coordinates of a few places he might be, most of them in and around Palo Alto.” Graham informed them, “The game and associated activities should give you enough cover to be able to look around without suspicion.”

“We do not anticipate, nor do we expect for, this to last the weekend,” Beckman added, “However, accommodations have been secured for you should you need it. You will leave first thing tomorrow. We wish you luck.” Without waiting for a response, the feed was cut.

“I’ll go gas up the Vic,” Casey grunted, “We will meet back her at 07:00.”

“So, we’re driving up?” Chuck questioned, “Wouldn’t it be faster just to fly into San Francisco?”

“We are supposed to look like tailgaters,” Sarah explained, “Driving will help cement that cover.”

“I can’t believe I have to go back there,” Chuck groaned as he and Sarah made their way out of Casey’s apartment and over to Chuck’s to pack for the weekend, “The place where my future was unceremoniously ripped away.”

“I know it’s hard, but it’s the job,” Sarah gently reminded him. “Now come on, lets get you packed for a couple days. We really should put together a go bag for you, if this team becomes a more permanent thing.”

“How about we get through this weekend first?” Chuck suggested, opening the Morgan Door and letting them into his room.

“Do you have any of your old Stanford stuff?” Sarah asked, looking around and not finding a stitch of crimson anywhere.

“Yeah, it’s in a box in my closet, one sec,” He went over to his walk-in closet and pulled down a large banker’s box filled to the brim with and eclectic mix of items from shirts to banners, picture frames, and various miscellaneous items from his college days. “The box of despair.” He tossed the box on the bed and started going through it.

A picture frame on the top caught his eye, it was him, Bryce, and a few of their frat buddies. “I thought I was really going somewhere back then, you know? I was doing great in my classes, I had friends, we were always up to something, having fun, and then it all just came crashing down on me.”

“I’m sorry, Charlie,” Sarah laid a gentle hand on his arm, “I know Graham is trying his hardest to make this right for you, or at least as right as it can be.” She turned back to the box, picked up a small plastic card, and smiled. “Looking at this, I’m a little surprised I didn’t recognize you right away.”

Chuck looked over her shoulder at the Stanford ID she held in her hand and rolled his eyes, “It’s like they deliberately try to take the worst picture of you possible.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Sarah protested, “I think you look cute.”

“’Cute?’” Chuck scoffed, “Golly gee, thanks for making me feel like I’m eight.”

Sarah gave him a meaningful look, “I think you're a bit more than that.”

The teasing leer from his not-so-cover girlfriend made him blush and stammer a moment, something that caused Sarah’s grin to widen exponentially. Finally, Chuck got his wits about him and took the card from her, tossing it back in the box. “I’m guessing you weren’t really wanting my old ID or pictures from back then. What exactly were you hoping I would have in here?”

“Swag,” Sarah shrugged, when Chuck gave her a questioning look, “Really, Charlie?” She scoffed, “Shirts, blankets, sweatshirts, fan gear… you know, swag.”

Understanding bloomed over his face, “Oh, right. Yeah, I think I may still have a few t-shirts from the frat and Stanford, maybe a sweatshirt or two, but they aren’t in this box, I think they’re stored away, I just have to get into the porch closet.” He got up to put the box back in his closet.

“Wait,” Sarah reached in and grabbed his student ID, “This might come in handy,” She pocketed the card which she would give to Casey later to reactivate in case they needed access to somewhere only students could gain access to.

“Okay?” Chuck gave her a bemused look before turning and putting the box back up on the top shelf of his closet. Wiping the dust from the box off on his jeans, he turned back to her, “I’m gonna go out and see if I can’t find the other box.”

“Sounds good,” Sarah nodded and watched as he exited the room. While she waited, she pulled a small, black, duffel bag from his closet along with a couple pairs of jeans, as well as a couple shirts. She then went to his dresser and pulled out a couple pairs of boxers and socks along with a pair of pajama pants. She folded everything and put them into the duffel bag before heading into the bathroom. When she returned with his travel kit, Chuck was carrying a Rubbermaid bin down the hall toward the bedroom. She allowed him to pass and set the bin on the bed and removed the lid.

When he spotted her putting his travel kit into the duffel, he gave her an odd look, “I could have packed for myself, you know.”

“Yeah, but I figured I would get the basics in there for you, then toss some of your Stanford swag in there, maybe steal a shirt or two for my own use.” She shrugged, a cheeky grin on her face.

Chuck abandoned the bin and inspected the contents of the bag, “You even packed socks and underwear?” He chuckled, amusedly, “Even my ex wouldn’t have done that.”

“Well, that is probably part of the reason she is your ex,” She teased.

“You mean aside from the fact she cheated on my in spectacular form,” Chuck arched an eyebrow at her, “Oh and the more important fact that she wasn’t you?”

“Both very good reasons,” She smirked, walking over to the bin and combing through the contents. She eventually pulled out a couple Stanford shirts and a sweatshirt as well as another t-shirt and sweatshirt bearing the Greek letters of Chuck’s fraternity. “Will these still fit you? I mean you have filled out a bit since high school.”

Chuck looked over the shirts she’d pulled out, “The frat gear will still fit, those I got my last year and I haven’t changed much since then.” He then held up a cardinal red t-shirt with ‘Stanford’ written across the front in grey script, “This one I got when Ellie and Awesome took me up for my campus tour, so it would be too small now.”

“Alright, I’ll take that one, then,” Sarah swiped the shirt out of his hand and held it up against herself, “Looks like it will fit me. For the record, this will be one of the few times you’ll see me not wear my crimson at a university sporting event. I’m only wearing cardinal for you… and the op, but mainly for you.”

“That’s very kind and generous of you Miss Harvard alumna,” Chuck teased, packing a larger Stanford t-shirt and sweatshirt in the duffel bag before reaching into the bin one more time and grabbing a grey Stanford sweatshirt and tossing it to Sarah, “There you go Jen, just in case you get cold while we are there. Just so you know, if we ever get the chance to visit our alma mater, I’ll proudly make the sacrifice of wearing crimson for you.”

“I appreciate that,” She grinned, “So you’re packed now, we should probably head back to my place to make sure my go bag has everything I need for this weekend. Graham or Beckman’s administrative assistant should be making the arrangement for us. We do need to stop at Casey’s before heading to my place, though.”

“Why?” Chuck inquired, sipping his bag closed.

“I want to drop off your student ID to have him reactivate it, just in case.” She shrugged, “So are you ready to go, Charlie?”

“As ready as I can be,” He shrugged, shouldering his bag, “Lead the way, Jenny.”


	6. Chapter 6

Ellie and Awesome were up and drinking coffee in their scrubs when Chuck came walking out of his room, duffel bag slung over his shoulder the next morning. They watched as he dropped the bag on the arm of the sofa and entered the kitchen pulling down two travel mugs, then pouring and doctoring up the coffee. After snapping the lids onto the containers, he walked over to the pantry and pulled out a couple strawberry oatmeal bars before collecting the travel mugs and returning to the table where he set the mugs on the table and slipped the oatmeal bars into the side pocket of his duffel.

“And just where are you goin?” Ellie eyed her brother as if trying to discern his answer before he gave it. Wherever this little trip of his was taking was clearly a bit embarrassing for him.

“Um,” He cleared his throat, “Well, I kinda changed my mind about the football game… or rather, Sarah convinced me to reconsider going. I mentioned the fact you had asked me to go and she really wanted to see where I’d gone to school. Despite how it ended, the majority of my experience there was positive, and she’s helping me to try to focus more on the good times I had there than that one terrible day. So, we’re heading up a day early so I can show her around campus, maybe the frat if the new guys will let me in.” He then smirked at his sister and her boyfriend, “Then we’ll probably pretend we don’t know you during the tailgating party in the quad then try not to rub it in your face too much when Stanford crushes your precious Bruins.”

“Oh whatever,” Ellie rolled her eyes.

“So, taking the lady to see the old alma mater?” Devon piped up, “Awesome.”

“Yeah, but we want to be able to get up there while there’s still light out,” Chuck shrugged, “So I gotta get going, I’ll see you tomorrow at some point, I’m sure.” He shouldered his bag once more and collected the travel mugs before heading toward the front door, “Oh, and Awesome, make sure you double check the face paint your ‘frat brahs’ get, lest you have a repeat of last year.”

“No kidding,” Awesome huffed good naturedly, “Having to be at the hospital with my face matching my scrubs, not awesome.”

“Wait a sec,” Ellie got up from the table and gave her brother a hug, “Be safe getting up there, and …while you’re there.”

“Ellie!” Chuck blushed, “Not that it’s any of your business, but I got it covered.”

“Please God, I hope you aren’t meaning just what you carry in your wallet,” She pleaded with him.

“Of course not; what do you take me for?” He scoffed, “Besides I don’t carry it around anymore. Besides, that thing is so old now, with my luck, Morgan would steal it and wind up getting himself and some poor girl in trouble after it fails and then try to blame me.”

“Yeah,” Ellie shivered at the thought of Morgan fathering a child, however accidentally, “Morgan with a kid is more than a little disturbing.”

“Wow, not faith in the little bearded man,” Chuck snickered, “I’ll have you know, he’s great with kids. You should see him with his cousins’ kids, I can see him being a great dad someday… in the very far distant future.”

A knock then sounded on the door, Ellie looked past the door before giving her brother one more hug, “I’m guessing that’s probably Sarah. I’ll see you up there. I love you little brother.”

“Love you too, Sis,” Chuck kissed his sister’s cheek and gave her a warm smile before answering the door to reveal Sarah, who he kissed softly before handing her one of the travel mugs and following her out the door.

* * *

The drive up to Palo Alto was rather uneventful, Casey refused to let either Chuck or Sarah drive his precious Vic, which let them snuggle up in the back seat for the duration of the ride. Although, Casey nearly threw them out somewhere around Santa Barbara after one too many chauffer and ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ jokes were tossed his way by the yet undefined element in the vehicle, followed by the amused snickers of a the C.I.A. agent. After that, Chuck had broken out his iPod and earbuds, giving one side to Sarah while he placed the other in his own ear, before long the two had drifted off listening to one of Chuck’s favorite Nina Simone songs.

They’d made a brief detour to Monterey for lunch, and so that Casey could check in with the local N.S.A. office which was housed at the Naval Postgraduate School before continuing on to Palo Alto. Before too long, Casey was pulling into the Palo Alto Sheraton, where they had two rooms booked. According to Beckman’s assistant, they were to have two rooms, one with two double beds, and one with a king. However, when they arrived, they found that all the rooms with two doubles were sold out and the double room had been changed to a room with a king and a pull out. When Casey pulled them to the side to confer over what to do, Sarah suggested that she and Chuck share that room as their cover was boyfriend/girlfriend. Casey was more than happy to accept her proposal as it meant at least one less night for him to ‘nerd sit.’ He then returned to the desk, made sure that there were three keys for their room, one of which he pocketed, and one for his; he had no interest in them disturbing his ‘moron free’ time.

“Here,” Casey tossed the key packet to Sarah, “Drop your gear and meet back here in 15 to head out.”

“We’ll see you then,” Sarah nodded then, taking Chuck’s hand, headed toward the elevator bay just off the main lobby to head up to their room. Upon entering, Chuck pulled out some of their monitoring equipment for the room while Sarah swept the room for bugs. Once the room was cleared and security had been established for the room, they headed back down to the lobby, pausing only once for Sarah to hang the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door to their room. “Oh, and before I forget, this one is yours, don’t lose it. Last thing we need is to have to ask Casey for another key to the room.”

“Understood,” Chuck nodded as he pulled his wallet out of his messenger bag and slipped the key into one of the card slots on the right side of the fold.

Once the team had met up again, a plan of action was quickly determined. Chuck and Sarah would, under the guise of alumni, would check out Fleming’s office and the few possible other locations he might be on campus while Casey checked into his home in one of the Staff Housing sections adjacent to campus. The trio loaded into Casey’s Vic and headed the few blocks to campus where Chuck and Sarah were dropped off near one of the admin buildings to make their way to the building housing The School of Humanities & Sciences, where Fleming had a ground floor office.

Luckily, there were no students in the area of the office when Chuck and Sarah got there, in part due to not many classes being held on Fridays and the fact that most of the students were gearing up for the weekend’s events. The door was unlocked, something that surprised them until they saw how the small room had been ransacked. Thankfully, Fleming’s computer was still there and intact. While Sarah searched the office for any clues as to what the professor had taken or where he might be, Chuck set to work hacking the computer to see if he couldn’t figure out what files had been recently accessed or downloaded. Once he had gained access to the computer, he found that the system wipe had been initiated, but never completed. With a smirk, he cracked his knuckles and made quick work of recovering the files, copying them onto an external drive he’d brought with him for this very purpose.

“What are you doing?” Sarah demanded, when she saw him plug a cord into the computer.

“Someone did a half-assed job of wiping the drive,” He shrugged, “I was able to recover the data and am now transferring it to an external drive to review later. Once that’s done, I’ll crash the system beyond all repair or recovery.”

“Won’t it take a while to do?” Sarah arched an eyebrow.

The computer beeped, causing Chuck’s grin to widen, “Nope,” He pulled the cable from the port, then hit a few keys on the computer, “This drive is one of my own design, it’s near instantaneous. Only works for smaller systems like a personal computer, at least for now. Maybe I can eventually get a grant to develop one for use on larger systems, assuming the powers that be ever make up their mind about what to do with me.” He slipped the drive into his bag and slipping the strap over his shoulder as he stood.

“I know what I would like to do,” She grinned, pulling him to her by the front of his shirt. Rising up on her toes, she slid her free hand up his chest and shoulder before entwining her fingers in his hair and bringing his head closer to hers as she gave him an intense kiss that promised more later. She flashed him a wide smile as she stepped back, “Ready to go?”

Chuck was clearly dazed, clearing his throat and shaking his head brought him back to the present, “Erm, yeah, yes. Let’s go.” He took her offered hand and followed her out the door, making sure to lock and close the door behind them. They made quick work of checking his other campus haunts before heading across campus to faculty housing. They saw Casey’s Vic parked up the street a bit and assumed he was either still in the house searching for clues or somewhere in the neighborhood searching for Fleming; that was if he hadn’t found and detained the professor already.

As they approached Fleming’s home, they saw a grey sedan pull up and a man wearing a baseball cap step out and walk to the back seat to pull a couple paper grocery bags from the back seat and head toward the side entrance of the home. Chuck recognized him right away and headed toward the man. Sarah caught what he was doing and quickly rounded a nearby home to see if she couldn’t cut him off. Chuck quickly jogged up to the older man, “Professor Fleming,” He quietly called to him.

The man hesitated only slightly and turned toward the voice, eyes widening before he took of on a run, only to be cut off by Sarah who had her side arm aimed at him. He stopped, dropping his bag as he raised his arm, not caring that egg yolks now spattered his shoes, as he audibly gulped. “Wha… who are you?”

By this time Chuck had caught up to them and had walked over to stand beside Sarah, “Professor, I don’t know if you remember me, but…”

“Bartowski, right?” The professor wrinkled his brow in concentration, “Charles Bartowski?”

“I guess you do remember me,” Chuck nodded in amazement, “Then again, I guess it’s not every day you expel someone over trumped up charges of academic misconduct.”

“You have to believe that was not my choice my hands were tied,” Fleming protested.

“More than just your hands will be tied if you don’t tell us what we need to know,” Casey, who had heard Chuck’s conversation with the professor, emerged from the side door of the house and aimed his own weapon at the man from his perch on the porch.

“We really thought we were doing what was best,” The professor continued.

“Who is ‘we?’” Chuck pressed.

“I – I can’t say,” Fleming’s eyes darted from Chuck to Sarah, Casey, and back to Chuck, who was giving him a searching look.

“You and Agent Larkin, perhaps?” Chuck arched an eyebrow.

“I – Wait, you know Mr. Larkin was in the C.I.A?” The professor’s eyes widened in surprise.

“If I hadn’t, I would now,” Chuck scoffed, “What I would like to know is why.”

“Um, is there any way you could ask the young lady and the man on my porch to lower their weapons?” Flemming asked nervously.

“I could, but I can’t promise that they will,” Chuck shrugged before turning his gaze to Casey and Sarah and nodding slightly. The two of them lowered their weapons but stood at the ready in case the professor tried to run again. “Now, Glass Castle,” He noticed the nervous look on the older man’s face upon the use of the codename, “Who is Black Coat and what files did you take?”

The professor stammered a bit before sighing, “So you wound up in the C.I.A. after all, the director reaching out to me makes sense now. He was vetting you.”

“Something like that,” Chuck gave a non-committal shrug, “Now who or what is Black Coat and what did you take?”

“Black Coat is Larkin,” Fleming gave them a confused look, “If he didn’t send you, who did?”

“Graham,” Chuck stated simply, “He intercepted your signal. I hate to break it to you, but Larkin is dead, he was killed a couple months ago. Now the data.”

“It’s in a dead drop we use,” Fleming sighed, reaching into his pocket, which caused Casey and Sarah to raise their weapons once more. “I’m just reaching for a paper in my pocket.”

“Two fingers,” Casey growled the order, “Slowly.”

Fleming nodded and slowly removed a strip of paper, holding it out for Chuck to take and look over.

“What is it, Chuck?” Sarah asked, her eyes and gun still focused on Fleming.

“A code of some sort,” Chuck examined the paper again before it dawned on him what it was, “It’s a call number for a book in one of the libraries on campus.” He checked his watch, “Which is closing soon.”

“Bartowski, Walker, you find the book,” Casey directed, “I’ll babysit the prof until back up arrives.”

Chuck and Sarah nodded their understanding of the direction and headed off while Casey descended from his perch and zip tied the professor’s hands before leading them into the house until a cleaner team could come collect him.

It was 20 minutes until closing when Chuck and Sarah arrived at the campus library. Chuck used his newly reactivated ID and let them into the building leading Sarah quickly up to the third floor where the reference section was located. As they drew closer to the section listed on the slip of paper, memories flooded Chuck’s brain, games of ‘gotcha’ with his frat buddies until it was just Bryce and himself trying to one-up each other in the game of skill and tactics. The two young men had been pretty evenly matched, although all things being equal, Chuck was the more skilled of the two. Many of the times Bryce had triumphed over him had involved cheating or deception beyond the usual rules of the game. Rounding the corner of the stacks they came to the section dedicated to gynecological studies and found the book with the matching call number to the slip.

Sarah pulled out the book and flipped through the pages, not sure what she was looking for. Reaching the end of the book, she shook her head at Chuck who pulled another book which bore the same call number. This was repeated a couple more times, every time resulting in them coming up empty. Defeated, they leaned up against the wall.

“Well, that was a waste of time,” Sarah sighed, “Do you think someone got to it before us or maybe Fleming lied to us?”

“I don’t know,” Chuck took in the area in which he stood. Suddenly a memory from one of the last times he’d payed ‘gotcha’ came back to him, “Wait, maybe what we are looking for wasn’t a book, maybe the call number was just a marker to indicate where something might be hidden. We used to play this game were we would chase each other down with nerf guns. Bryce and I were the best, I seem to remember there was this one time we were in this area, he was out of ammo and had raised his hands to surrender. However, instead of letting me claim victory, he grabbed another dart from under…” He felt up under the shelves above and below the book until he found a small hinge and grinned, “The shelf,” He opened the compartment to reveal a case with a small CD disk and pulled it out showing it to Sarah, “Gotcha.” He grinned.

Sarah couldn’t help it; she leapt into his arms and gave him a kiss that made him a little weak in the knees before the rest of him caught up and allowed himself to be lost in the kiss. “My boyfriend is so clever.” She smiled against his lips as he backed her up against a nearby wall, “It’s a good thing I find his mind incredibly sexy.”

“Mr. Bartowski!” They were interrupted by a heavy set, balding, middle-aged man storming up to them. “We have rules about appropriate conduct in the library. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you and your lady friend to leave.”

Chuck and Sarah had the good sense to look contrite as they apologized and made their way out of the building laughing at being reprimanded like a couple of teenagers necking under the bleachers. It was just about sunset as they emerged from the stone building. Sarah called Casey to update him on what they had found and was informed that Fleming had been collected and Casey had returned to the hotel to indulge in some scotch and a WW1 documentary he had been wanting to catch.

“Well, the hotel isn’t that far away, maybe a mile or so, we could walk it easy,” Chuck suggested, “And it’s not too late, I can still show you around, if you like.”

“I would love that,” Sarah smiled up at him as she linked her arm though his, “Lead on, Charlie.”

“As you wish, Jenny,” Chuck smiled as they made their way across campus, Chuck stopping occasionally to point out something or another. They had agreed to wait to check out Chuck’s old Frat house until the next day, figuring it would be easier to gain access to the house during the festivities in which the houses were open to alumni and their families. They were just walking near the admin building housing the offices of the Dean of Students, Dean of Engineering, and the Provost when they heard Chuck’s name being called.

“Mr. Bartowski!” They turned to find an older man with greying hair and a suit descending the stairs of the admin building, “May I have a moment of your time?”

“Dean Winters?” Chuck gave the older man a surprised look before turning to Sarah and quickly explaining that the man was the Dean over the Engineering program and had, with only Bryce’s and Fleming’s testimony, been the one to expel him. He saw the anger flicker across Sarah’s face and her body tense as if coiling to spring at the man. However, one touch on her shoulder from her boyfriend calmed her enough to at least hear the older man out before attacking. “Is there a problem? I mean I know I was expelled, but I wasn’t aware of anything that would bar me from campus.”

“No, you’re not in trouble, quite the opposite, actually,” The older man assured him, “I was going to call you on Monday, but seeing as you are here, would you and your lovely companion care to follow me inside? I think you will like what I have to say.”

Chuck and Sarah shared a look silently communicating with one another before turning back to the older man and nodding their agreement. “Excellent,” Dean Winters smiled warmly, climbing the stairs once more and opening the door for them. He led them down the hall and up to the offices of the executive board. Opening a conference room door, he gestured for them to take a seat before excusing himself for a few minutes.

The couple shared a confused look before taking their seats at the small conference table, their chairs scooted close together, knees touching under the table. Sarah felt Chuck bouncing his left knee nervously as they waited and laid her hand over his thigh to calm the nervous motion. Chuck gave her a grateful smile and took her right hand in his left as the door swung open again, Dean Winters was followed by an austere looking woman with dark hair cut in a fashionable but practical shoulder-length style. She held a large mailing envelope as well as a standard letter sized envelope held against her body with one hand and a briefcase in the other. She laid the envelopes on the table and set the briefcase on the chair beside her as she and Dean Winters took their seats.

When Sarah gave her boyfriend a questioning look, he informed her, under his breath, that the woman was the Vice President and General Counsel for the university. Once all were seated, the Vice President spoke up, “I think we can all agree it was most fortuitus that you were on campus this weekend. At the very least it saved us a trip,” She smiled at the younger couple as she slid the envelopes, the larger mailer on the bottom with the standard letter-sized envelop sitting on top of it, over to rest in front of Chuck. “Mr. Bartowski, it has come to our attention that you were erroneously expelled from this university. To make matters worse, the decision was reached without the proper procedures such as a quorum to weigh the facts. If you would please open the larger of the two envelopes?”

Chuck gave the older woman a curious look as he pulled the tab closure on the stiff mailing envelope and extracted an 11”x14” piece of parchment. His eyes drifted over the wording indicating that he had been awarded his dual bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and Computer Science with distinction. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at his girlfriend, who was beaming with pride, then over to the two university administrators who wore similar pleased and hopeful looks upon their faces. “I graduated?” He whispered.

“Yes,” Winters nodded, “Based on your exemplary work and progress in the classes, many of your professors even acknowledged you were ahead of the rest of the class in several cases, we decided to treat your mid-term results and your final exams render your course scores from them.”

“Mr. Bartowski, if you would please open the smaller envelope,” The older woman nodded toward the unopened envelope still sitting on the table before Chuck and Sarah. Chuck carefully sipped his degree back in its folder and set it aside before slipping his finger under the corner of the flap and ripping the envelope open along the top seam. He pulled out a paper and a check. “The letter is one of apology from the university and administrative faculty for failing you when the accusations were brought up. Professor Fleming will be reprimanded, and his tenure revoked and Mr. Larkin, who was also party to this injustice will be stripped of his degree posthumously. Additionally, if you decided to pursue a graduate degree, we are willing to offer you a full-ride scholarship. This will stand if you decide to pursue a higher degree at another institution, and we can understand if you are hesitant to continue your education with us.”

“Wow,” Chuck sighed, “I don’t know what to say. Well, aside from thank you, of course, for your generous offer. I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment, so I’ll have to get back to you about continuing on, but I am grateful for the opportunity to do so.”

“If I’m being honest,” Winters broke in, “I honestly hope you do compete your graduate work here. I know you were one of our tutors on campus as well as being top of your class. It would be my honor to offer you a faculty posting, pending receiving your Masters, and perhaps even your Doctorate, degree.”

“I…” Chuck stammered, at a loss for words, “That would be amazing…”

“It is the least we can do,” The Vice President assured him, “There was also a check in the envelope for $500,000. It is what we estimated your lost wages would be plus reparation for damages and defamation of character.”

Chuck was absolutely gob smacked by everything he had heard. Picking up the check and looking at the amount written in the amount box, still struggling to believe that it was, in fact, real.

“Of course, in order to keep the check, you will need to sign documentation stating that you will not sue the University and accept this check in lieu of a settlement.” The Vice President advised.

Chuck shook his head, “I wouldn’t sue any way, I’m not that kind of person. I mean this is honestly more than I feel I deserve. I would have been happy with just my degrees.” He looked at Sarah who was still smiling at him, proudly, “Give me the forms, I’ll sign what ever you need from me.”

“I thought you might say that,” The older woman smiled at him and pulled a couple papers from her briefcase. She went over the documents with Chuck, answering any questions he might have as he looked them over, knowing he should read the documents before signing anything. Finding the terms amenable, he took the pen the General Counsel offered him and quickly signed his name before sliding the documents and the pen back to the older woman.

“Well, that about does it,” The Vice President’s relieved smile was contagious, spreading rapidly to the other three occupants of the room. “We appreciate your understanding in this whole matter, Mr. Bartowski.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Chuck nodded, extending his right hand to shake the older woman’s over the table before turning to the dean, “And thank you, Dean Winters.”

“It was my pleasure, Mr. Bartowski,” The dean nodded, “Another thing to consider if you do decide to come back, we do have family housing if you and your wife don’t want to live off campus.

Chuck and Sarah shared a look, but didn’t contradict the older man’s assumption, figuring it would come in handy if they needed to use it as a cover on campus. “Thank you, sir. We do appreciate all that you’ve done for me, but it is getting late and you caught us just as we were heading back to our hotel and we really would like to get back to rest up for the festivities tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Dean Winters nodded, “I’ll walk you out.”

The young couple followed the older man out, Chuck had placed the smaller envelope, with the exception of the check, which was securely in his wallet, in the larger one and had tucked the larger envelope into his messenger bag. His left hand still held Sarah’s firmly as they made their way to the exit doors. After one last round of handshakes and ‘thank yous,’ the younger couple set out on their short walk back to their hotel room.

* * *

Once they were back in their room, Chuck only had enough time to set his messenger bag on the sofa before Sarah jumped on him, “Oh my God, Charlie! You did it!” She grinned down at him, the height variation coming from the fact she had wrapped her legs around his waist and arms around his shoulders, while her boyfriend had one arm holding her butt, an the other wrapped securely around her waist to hold her up. She gave him a deep kiss, “I am so proud of you, I could burst. I can’t wait until tomorrow when we can tell Ellie!”

“I can still hardly believe it!” Chuck grinned into the kisses his girlfriend was giving him, “I mean, I kinda can. I know Director Graham was trying to make things right, but I was still expecting to have to come back in the spring to retake my last semester.”

“Well, I think this calls for a nice dinner.” Sarah declared, shimmying down from her perch until her feet were back on the ground, “Pick a place and we’ll go.”

“Honestly, I’d much rather get room service and make this a two-person celebration for tonight.” Chuck shrugged.

“I think I can manage that,” She smiled, crossing to the guest assistance book and flipping to the page which held the room service menu, “I’m still ordering champagne, we can’t properly celebrate without it.”

“I agree,” He nodded, walking over to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the side of her neck as he looked over the menu, eventually settling on the filet mignon with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes while Sarah ordered the salmon fillet with rice pilaf. While they waited for their dinner to be delivered, they snuggled up on the bed as Chuck flipped through the channels before settling on a young adult sci-fi show that aired on an ABC affiliate revolving around a young man who had no memory of who he is who is taken in by family in a suburb of Seattle.

The show was just wrapping up when they heard a knock on their door indicating that their food had arrived. Chuck tipped the server generously, handed the tray of food to Sarah to take to the table, and signed the check while she set the table and poured the wine. “You know that show wasn’t very realistic…” She handed him a flute of champagne.

“Which is why it is science _fiction_ , Jen,” Chuck gave her an amused look, “Besides you’re really one to talk, you’re the one who is dating a guy who downloaded a governmental database into his head and is essentially a walking computer.”

“Good point,” She nodded her acquiescence before raising her glass, “Here’s to you Charlie! Congratulations on finally receiving your degree. May you be successful, happy, and satisfied with your life. I hope you get everything you ever wanted; I love you.”

“My academic record has been fixed, my reputation restored, and I somehow managed to convince the more wonderful, talented, and am amazing woman to love a nerd like me.” Chuck smiled down at her, taking her free hand in his own and kissing her knuckles, “I love you too, Jenny, so here is to our future, wherever it may lead us.” He clinked his glass to hers and they both took a sip.

Sarah turned off most of the lights in the room, except the one over the table, which was on a dimmer switch, allowing her to lower to a more romantic glow. Chuck held her chair out for her, sliding it in as she took her seat before he rounded the table to take his seat and top off their wine glasses. Their meal was amazing, and just as enjoyable as going to a fancy restaurant. They finished off the meal with a dessert of molten chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce that Sarah had ordered on a whim and savored every bite they fed each other, the pleasurable noises emanating from Sarah’s mouth bringing a smile to Chuck’s face and desire to build in his lower stomach.

After putting their dirty dishes outside their door to be collected, Chuck turned back to his girlfriend and gave her a slow, sensual kiss. “It’s getting late, and we should probably get to bed soon. We have a full day tomorrow and we should probably debrief Director Graham and General Beckman in the morning about the events of this afternoon.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Sarah agreed, slowly stepping out of his arms and going to her bag to collect a few things before ducking into the bathroom while Chuck changed in the room. Chuck was reclined on the bed, sitting on top of the covers in a plain t-shirt and a pair of grey pajama pants when Sarah emerged from the bathroom. Her face had been scrubbed of all make up, her hair was down around her shoulders and she wore one of the hotel robes which hid whatever sleepwear she had on. She climbed up onto the bed and snuggled into her boyfriend’s side, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

They sat, enjoying this time together before Sarah spoke up, “Chuck?”

“Hmm?”

“I know we talked about taking things slow,” She started hesitantly, unsure how she would be received, “And we’ve been back together for a while now… I know it hasn’t been very long in the grand scheme of things, but at the same time, it seems like we’ve been together for a long time.”

“Jenny,” Chuck turned to look at Sarah who looked up at him with nervous excitement, “What are you saying?”

“I think… no, I know I’m ready,” She looked up at him shyly, he was the only one she’d ever allowed herself to be vulnerable around. “I mean, if you are ready…”

Chuck smiled warmly down at her, “You know, you don’t have to do this,” He assured her, “The dinner and champagne were enough celebration for me.” He noticed the slightly dejected look on her face, “Don’t get me wrong, I _really_ want to, I do, I just want to do it for the right reasons. I don’t want to rush into that kind of relationship.”

“Charlie,” Sarah got up on her knees and took his face in her hands, “Whether or not you had received your diploma this weekend, we would still be having this conversation. Do you understand me?” Chuck nodded, “Good. Now, how about we just start with this,” She shifted to straddle his legs and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, “And see where it goes. If we wind up making love, that would be wonderful, but if we don’t, that’s okay too.”

“I think I can live with that,” Chuck grinned, wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her close to him, and tangling his other hand in her hair as he returned her kisses with equal fervor. Before long, his shirt was on the floor next to the bed and he was deftly releasing the belt of her robe.

Sliding the material off her shoulders, he found she was wearing his Stanford t-shirt and a simple pair of panties, “That has got to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” He whispered, tossing the robe to join his shirt on the floor before diving back into their make out session. Slipping his hand up the shirt, he found his fingers unhindered by anything other than the shirt, and knew he’d hit his mark as his thumb brushed over the tip of her breast, causing her to gasp into his mouth. He grinned and turned them over until she was laying against the pillows and he was hovering over her, peppering kisses over her jaw and down her neck before slipping his other hand under the shirt and lifting it clear of her body until she was laying beneath him in nothing but her panties.

Noticing the disparity between their states of dress, Sarah began to push at his pajama pants with her feet, nearly taking his boxers with them. Once the pants had joined the rest of the accumulating pile of discarded clothing, they continued their make out session. She could feel him pushing against her, the friction driving her crazy as his firm, but gentle hands continued to dance across her body with the same confidence as his fingers played across the frets and strings of his guitar, causing her to moan in pleasure. It was clear they were both wanting the same thing, but much to her frustration and joy, he paused, his fingers playing with the waistband of her panties seeking permission.

When he saw the frantic nod from his girlfriend, he removed the last barrier between himself and seeing all of her. She was so beautiful, especially in the soft moonlight streaming through the window of their room. Tossing her panties to the side, he slowly kissed up the inside of her legs starting at the knee and switching every so often, reveling in her scent until he could not longer help but taste her, his grin threatening to split his face as he heard her sharp intake of breath as she rocked into him, silently begging him to continue. He lovingly obliged, thrilling in the mewling sounds she made as he brought her to the edge and backed off a few times before she was begging him to take her over the edge. He could feel her pulse and taste her release as she came down from her high. He loved the way she shivered under his touch as he slowly kissed his way up her body before giving her a long slow kiss, allowing her to get her breathing back under control and calm down so she didn’t go into sensory overload.

After she’d sufficiently recovered, she flipped them over and quickly freed him of his boxers. She tested him against her hand, reveling in the feel of him, the warm, velvety skin, and the sight of him caused butterflies of excited anticipation to flutter in her belly. She stroked him a few times as she tasted him, taking her time as he had until it was clear he wouldn’t be able to take much more.

“Side table,” He groaned. She smiled and reached over to the drawer, with drawing a small foil packet. Before she could open it, his eyes opened, locking onto hers, his hands gently grasping her wrists, “Are you sure, once we do this, there’s no going back.”

“I’m sure,” She smiled at him, “I want this, I want you.”

He nodded in acknowledgement as she opened the package. There were no words for the emotions, the sensations when they finally came together, the last piece of connection they had been waiting nearly a decade to find. Chuck couldn’t help but smile at the look on his girlfriend’s face as they made love for the first time of an infinite number yet to come. He was also glad that Casey’s room was a floor down and on the other end of the building, it was a good thing to as they held nothing back in expressing themselves to each other and the world around them.

As they came down from their mutual high and snuggled together for a night of well-deserved rest, whispering affirmations of love and devotion to each other as they rested in each other’s arms. The only one thought on either of their minds as they slowly drifted off to sleep was _perfect._


	7. Chapter 7

The slight dipping movement of the bed along with the hazy light coming through a small gab in the curtains awoke Sarah who began to stretch as she felt her boyfriend’s still naked form cozy up behind her and enfold her into his arms. She smiled as she felt him pressing warm kissed along her neck and shoulders, causing goosepimples to spread down her back and legs.

“Good morning, Beautiful,” Chuck hummed in her ear, “How’d you sleep?”

“Surprisingly well,” She rolled over in his arms so she could look up at him, “Slept straight through the night for the first time in a long time.”

“So, what you’re saying is that the sex tuckered you out,” He teased.

“The sex may have had something to do with it,” She smiled up at him, “But I think it had more to do with the fact that I had someone at my back, literally, that I could trust.”

“I love that my kick ass ninja spy girl is comfortable enough with me to be the little spoon.” Chuck kissed the tip of her nose. “I like that you can let yourself be vulnerable with me.”

“You make it easy to do,” Sarah sighed and snuggled into his chest. “Where did you go just now?”

“I didn’t go anywhere,” Chuck gave her a confused look.

“I felt you get back into bed as I was waking up,” She pointed out, looking up at him.

“Oh, right,” He nodded slightly, “I was making, or rather unmaking, the pull-out. I figure Casey knows or at least suspects we are the real deal. You have to admit we are terrible at remembering it is supposed to appear like a cover in front of him and your bosses.”

“We kinda are,” She giggled, “At least as far as Casey goes. I don’t think we’ve slipped up in front of the big bosses, at least not yet.”

“True,” Chuck agreed, “Anyway, I figured, we should at least make it look like we are going along with the cover for Casey’s sake. So, when I slipped out of bed to answer the call of nature, I pulled out the sofa bed, laid down in it – super uncomfortable, by the way – then got back up again, tossing the sheets and blanket over like I’d slept there all night. I also swapped my pillow I used last night with the spare from the closet so that it had my head impression on it, just in case the other pillow didn’t look used enough.”

“You really thought that out,” Sarah chuckled at him, “Very thorough, too. Although, I’m sure Casey would understand if we shared the bed so that it doesn’t look too suspicious to the housekeepers.”

“You make a good point,” Chuck nodded wisely.

“I tend to do that,” She answered smartly, “Speaking of good points, I don’t think this bed looks used enough to have been shared by a very amorous couple in love.”

Chuck looked down her blanket covered body, over the bed, then back up to meet her eyes, “You just might be right.” He hummed thoughtfully, “And just what do you propose we do about that, Jenny?”

“I may have a few ideas,” She gave him a mischievous look, one he mirrored as he lowered his head and began to kiss her deeply. She saw him grin widely as he lowered the covers to take in the sight of her in the early morning light.

“Well, at least we know we were on the same page with that,” He gave her a wicked grin, “Saves us so much time without having to worry about the undressing.”

“And if you are really good, maybe I’ll let you see some of my exciting underwear,” She smirked up at him.

“Well, I’m not much for spanking, but I’m pretty sure I can help you out with the final part of the ‘punishment’ for lighting the grail-shaped beacon, Fair Zoot.” He teased as he began kissing his way down her body.

Some, very perilously thrilling, time later, they rolled out of bed and into the bathroom. Figuring that it would be faster and save money, however misguided that assumption was, they chose to shower together. Of course, this was so that they could make sure that the areas their partner couldn’t reach, and a few that they could, were sufficiently clean, many times over in some cases. Chuck had just finished getting dressed, his curls still damp when a knock sounded on the door.

Sarah was still in the bathroom, drying her hair so he got her attention over the noise of the hairdryer to let her know that he was going to get the door. She turned off the loud machine long enough to tell him to check who it was first, before going back to drying her hair.

Chuck, despite his snarky reply that his sister had taught him about stranger danger and answering the door to unknown people, quickly checked through the peephole before answering the door to Casey who was holding a laptop case and looking slightly agitated over the fact that he’d had to knock more than once to be allowed entrance to the room. Had he needed to knock a third time, he would have used his own key, no matter how decent the pair may have been at that moment.

The major made a quick inventory of the room, taking in the very mussed bed, and slightly rumpled pullout and tried not to scoff at the attempt at maintaining the cover. As if he didn’t already know that they were mixing their chocolate and peanut butter… which, by the look of the large bed may have been a recent development. “Where’s Walker?” He demanded.

“And a very good morning to you, too, Casey,” Chuck snarked, only to be answered by a low growl from the older man. “She’s in the bathroom, drying her hair.”

“And you would know this how?” Casey challenged.

“First off, I have a sister, I know what a hairdryer sounds like,” Chuck rolled his eyes, “Secondly, she has the door open, it doesn’t take a genius to see she is doing her hair.”

The men heard the sound of a brush being set down on the side of the sink moments before Sarah emerged, her hair caught up in a ponytail that curled down her back, soft make up that complemented the grey and crimson t-shirt she wore with dark jeans. “Good morning, Casey,” She nodded to the man as she made her way across the room to grab a pair of socks from her luggage along with a pair black converse that were a low-top variation of the shoes her boyfriend was wearing, something that didn’t escape either man’s notice. “Is there something we can do for you?” She inquired, taking a seat on the side of the pull-out and quickly tying her shoes.

“Beckman and Graham want a debrief,” He stated simply, “After that, you two can go immerse yourselves in that hullabaloo out there,” He gestured vaguely toward where the campus was.

“Awe,” Sarah mocked, “Don’t want to join us, Casey?”

Chuck took in the older man’s outfit, dark wash jeans, a black t-shirt, and a pair of black combat boots, “Probably a good idea if he stays behind, he looks like he’s rooting for Death.”

Sarah did her best to hide her snicker as Casey growled at the glib comment. “As soon as you tidy this poor excuse for quarters, we will start the call. They are expecting contact in 20 minutes.” He advised.

Chuck and Sarah nodded before quickly setting to remaking both beds, stowing their luggage, and putting the room back to rights as Casey pulled out his tactical laptop and got the secure uplink set up. 15 minutes later, the team was assembled, and the call was initiated. The debrief didn’t last long, covering the apprehension of both Fleming and the intel. Fleming was being held at the NSA stating in Monterey and would travel back with them to LA where a C.I.A. escort team would take him, and the disk that was recovered, back to Langley.

As the call was coming to a close, Sarah interrupted, “There is one more thing,” She cast a quick look to Chuck, who caught the briefest look of pride and love in her eyes, before turning back to the monitor, “On our way off campus last night, Chu, erm Mr. Bartowski and I were stopped by the Dean of the Engineering college as well as the Vice President of the University. I am happy to report that Mr. Bartowski has been awarded his dual bachelor’s degrees. I am not sure how that will influence your decisions as to his status with the team or our agencies, but I thought you should be updated on that front.”

“Thank you for the update, Agent Walker,” Graham nodded to his protégé, “And congratulations, Mr. Bartowski. I wish to sincerely apologize for the portion of the situation that was perpetrated by the personnel within my agency.”

“Thank you, sir,” Chuck nodded graciously.

“Now, it is my understanding that you and Agent Walker are meant to join the festivities on campus to protect your cover?” Graham looked at the younger two members of the team.

“Yes sir,” Sarah nodded, “His sister and her boyfriend will be meeting us on campus in a little while. Apparently, there is a bit of a rivalry between the two schools.”

“Talk to me after you’ve experienced the Army/Navy game,” Casey grumbled, but the rest ignored him.

“Very well,” Graham nodded, “Enjoy the game, but I strongly suggest keeping you lines of communication open, just in case.”

“Of course, sir,” Sarah acknowledged.

“Do you have anything else to add?” Graham deferred to Beckman.

“I have nothing further, aside to say, congratulations Mr. Bartowski,” The austere woman responded.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Chuck nodded.

They saw Beckman hit a button on her keyboard and the screen went blank, indicating the end of the communication. Casey quickly packed up the laptop, reiterated that they should keep their phones and watches on them at all times, then left the room.

“Shall we go share the good news with your sister?” Sarah turned back to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Chuck checked his watch quickly and shook his head, “They won’t be here for at least another hour or so, we could go check out the frat while we’re waiting, if you like?”

Sarah smiled up at him, “I would love that,” She rose up on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips that he happily returned.

“We should probably take our sweatshirts with us, just in case.” He suggested, “It can get a little chilly if the game goes late.”

“Probably a good idea,” She agreed, going to her suitcase and pulling out the Stanford sweatshirt that Chuck had given her and tossing it to him to add to the rucksack he was already stuffing a blanket and his own sweatshirt into. He quickly double checked that the bag had all they would need for the day. Once the check was complete, Chuck swung the bag over his shoulder and offered his other hand to his girlfriend in silent invitation to join him.

* * *

“Welcome to Gamma Delta Phi,” Chuck gestured to the large three-story house with large pillars holding up the overhang that shaded the front porch. There were young men and women congregating in small clusters chatting, playing games, and generally enjoying themselves as they roamed over the lawns and in and out of the houses that lined the block. Chuck took Sarah’s hand in his own as he looked around for a familiar face, smiling as he recognized one of the guys he still stayed in contact with. “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.” The pair walked up to a man who looked to be around Chuck’s age with green eyes, light brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He was talking with a couple of their friends from their college days, holding a red cup in one hand while his other arm was looped over the shoulder of a young woman a couple years younger than him with tan skin and long black hair.

The pair was splitting their time between the conversation and smiling at each other. It only took a moment for the man to notice Chuck and Sarah, “Chuck!” The man grinned widely at the newcomers, “What the heck are you doing here?”

“Ellie and Awesome mentioned that they were coming up for the game and insisted we join them.” Chuck shrugged.

The young man looked around for the mentioned pair before turning back to his friend, “Where are they?”

“We had some work stuff to take care of up here yesterday, so we came up a day early,” Chuck explained, “Sarah, I would like you to meet my very good friend Joseph Richardson and his wife, Lynn. Joe, Lynn, this is Sarah.” He gave his girlfriend a loving look.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Sarah,” Lynn was the first to respond, shaking Sarah’s hand warmly, “I wish I could say I’ve heard all about you, but someone,” She shot a teasingly chastising look toward her husband’s friend, “Neglected to mention you to us before now.”

“Actually, that’s not entirely true,” Chuck corrected, “Joe, remember that girl I told you about that I met in high school that I lost contact with?”

“Yeah, you were so infatu…” Joe started, then his eyes widened in realization, “This is her? Oh wow, what are the chances of that happening?”

“Pretty dang small,” Chuck admitted, “Especially since we both moved around a few times between then and now. Her more than me, but still.”

“Wait, I thought you’d said her name was Jenny…” Joe furrowed his brow.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Sarah blushed, “Long story short, I had to change my name due to some less than advisable business dealings my father had gotten involved in when I was in high school.”

“Like WitSec?” Another man in the group asked, joining the conversation. “Was your dad in the mob or something?”

“Paul!” Chuck chastised.

“It’s okay,” Sarah gave her boyfriend a placating smile, “No, he wasn’t in the mob, but I think the people he’d gotten involved with were. He was arrested and I was put into a foster home in another state and my name was changed to protect me.”

“That sucks,” Paul gave her a sympathetic look, “Paul Daniels.”

“Sarah Walker,” Sarah introduced herself.

“So aside from meeting back up with your long-lost love,” Joe smirked at his friend, “Is there anything new going on with you?”

“Yeah, actually,” Chuck gave a small smile, “The business we had to take care of up here actually had to do with the situation five years back.”

“Chuck, there’s no reason to play coy,” Sarah nudged him with a proud grin on her face, “The charge of academic misconduct was overturned, and he is now, officially, a Stanford graduate.”

Joe and Paul’s eyes grew large as twin smiles spread over their faces a split second before they both let out a resounding whoop. When the other men around them looked up, they saw the men clapping a Chuck on the shoulders as they pulled him away from his girlfriend and into bro hugs as they loudly announced to the rest of the gathering that the false charges against Chuck had been dropped. After that, nearly everyone who had known and supported Chuck back then congratulated him on his degree, and then, after meeting Sarah, on snagging one of the most beautiful women any of them had ever seen, second only in their eyes to their own wives and girlfriends, of course.

As the celebration began to wane, a man a few years older than Chuck, approached. He was slightly shorter than Chuck but a bit more muscular with glasses and a close-cropped haircut and a dark complexion. The recognized ranking alumni of the frat, he handed a highball glass to Chuck and lifted his own glass, “A toast,” He announced, “To Chuck Bartowski to wrongs finally being set to rights, and may Bryce Larkin get whatever is coming to him!”

“Here, here!” The various men and women around them agreed, raising their glasses in toast to the newly awarded graduate.

“Thank you, Art,” Chuck smiled at the man beside him.

“Surely you can’t argue that you didn’t deserve it,” The man scoffed before turning to Sarah, “Arthur Graham, and you are?”

Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise as she took his offered hand, “Sarah Walker…”

Art’s eyes flicked between the blonde and his frat buddy, recognition dawning in his eyes before he nodded. “Oh, I understand now.”

Chuck looked confused for a moment before his own realization dawned over his face, “I don’t think you do.”

“Maybe we should take this somewhere private?” Sarah suggested. The men both nodded before Art led them into the house and into one of the insulated study rooms located on the second floor.

“No one can hear us in here,” Art assured them as he locked the door behind them to prevent any interruptions. “So, is this the part where you deny working with my uncle? Because I can guarantee, I’ve heard of you, Agent Walker.”

“And I you, Agent Pendragon,” Sarah countered, ignoring Chuck’s amused snort, “He speaks highly of you.”

“And of you as well,” Art nodded before turning to Chuck, “I heard that the agency had finally hooked the Piranha, but I didn’t believe it until now.”

“Believe it,” Chuck shrugged, “One thing though, your agency moniker is Pendragon, seriously?”

“They wanted to call me Othello,” Art rolled his eyes, “It was a little on the nose.”

“So is Pendragon,” Chuck countered.

The men both chuckled, “You’re not wrong, but it’s not like I use it that often, it’s just the name they pay me under. When I’m on assignment, they give me another identity, I’m sure you’re already familiar with that.”

“Sarah would know more about that then I would,” Chuck shrugged.

“So, you’re with the company now?” Art inquired, getting them back on track.

“On a trial basis,” Sarah spoke up, “There was the little snag of him not having a degree, which has since been remedied, so we are just waiting on the final decision.”

“Before you let the brass cotton to the fact you two are more than just a cover?” Art gave them a knowing look. “I’m guessing Uncle Langston is blissfully unaware that you two are more than agent and asset?”

“Beckman too,” Chuck shrugged.

“Oh, wow, you’re _that_ team?” Art’s eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets, “All anyone can talk about lately is the new hybrid team out of the LA field office. Wait, I thought you were a three-man team?”

“Our third wheel is babysitting the other reason we came up,” Sarah advised, the tone of her voice making it clear that no more would be spoken on the topic.

“Understood,” Art nodded, “Well, I just want you to know, I won’t blow your covers.”

“We appreciate that,” Chuck nodded.

“Welcome to the company,” Art shook his friend’s hand, “I still can’t believe that you still wound up working for us after Larkin went through all that work to disqualify you.”

“Don’t remind me,” Sarah rolled her eyes, “That’s five years I’ll never get back.”

“What do you mean, ‘get back?’” Art arched an eyebrow.

“Remember me talking about Jenny?” When Art nodded, Chuck looked toward Sarah.

“This just keeps getting weirder and weirder,” Art shook his head.

“You have no idea,” Sarah chuckled.

Chuck’s phone took that moment to begin to ring, looking down he saw it was Ellie. The other two went quiet as he answered. As it turned out Ellie and Awesome had just arrived and were in the process of scoping out and setting up their tailgating area. After assuring her that they would join them soon, he hung up. “Sorry, you know how Ellie is.” He shrugged only to have the other two nod in understanding.

“I’ll let you be on your way, then,” Art gave them a congenial smile, “One thing before I go, though. Don’t make my uncle have to wait too long before you clue him in on this. Maybe don’t tell him that it’s been going on the whole time, but maybe once Chuck’s status is official, give it a month or so and then let him know that it’s no longer a cover.”

“Trust us, we have no intention of keeping this from him any longer than we need to,” Sarah assured the slightly older man. “It was nice to meet you, Art.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Sarah,” Art nodded, “Chuck, it was good to see you again.”

“You too, man,” Chuck and Art exchanged a handshake and a bro hug before Art made his way out of the room.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Chuck snickered, “Who knew I was in the same frat as Langston Graham’s nephew who is incidentally also an agent of the same covert agency his uncle is the director of.”

“Small world,” Sarah shrugged, “You’d be surprised at who we have among our ranks. We should get going, though, I doubt Ellie will be patient for long knowing that we are already on campus.”

“You would be right about that,” Chuck wrapped his girlfriend up in his arms and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, “If we don’t at least make an appearance in the next little bit, she’s liable to come chase us down.” He gave her one more quick kiss then took her hand and led her out of the house. They paused briefly to say their good byes to Joe, Lynn, and Paul as well as a few of the other frat brothers, who stopped them as they made their exit, before heading across campus to the quad where there was an interesting mix of Stanford and UCLA students and alumni tailgating or advertising various student led organizations on campus.

It didn’t take long to locate Ellie, who stood by a table, sipping from a bottle of beer while she watched Awesome and his buddies rough house as they tossed a football between them. Her eyes lit up when she saw her little brother and his remarkably beautiful girlfriend. “Thank God you’re here,” She enthused, “There’s only so much of _this_ I can take without taking a severe hit to my sanity.”

“Well your sanity can rest easy, Sis, we’re here now,” Chuck assured her, “And we have some good news for you.”

Ellie’s eyes widened in excitement as she squealed, “Oh my God, you two eloped, didn’t you?”

Devon, who had heard his girlfriend’s pronouncement, jogged over, wrapping one arm around Ellie’s waist, “You eloped? That’s awesome, up top!” He held up his hand for a high-five.

“Uh, no,” Chuck stammered as Sarah blushed, “I wasn’t exactly honest as to the reason Sarah and I decided to come up early for the game.”

“What, you mean you didn’t want to show her around?” Ellie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“No, I mean, yes, I did, but that wasn’t the main reason,” He attempted to explain, “You see, I got a call from the Dean of the College of Computer Engineering asking to meet with me and saying it was very important.”

“What could he possibly think was important enough that you needed to drag yourself back up here?” Ellie demanded going into Mama-Sister Bear mode right in front of Chuck’s eyes.

“Whoa, Ellie, calm down, this is good news, remember?” He held up his hands placatingly, “It basically comes down to this, they discovered some new evidence that exonerates me. They overturned the ruling of academic misconduct and, since I was ahead in all my classes and had passed all my midterms with flying colors, they decided to simply issue me my bachelor’s degrees rather than have me retake those last 12 credits.” A grin split his face as he watched realization dawn on his sister’s face, “I am officially a Stanford Graduate.”

“He not only graduated,” Sarah gave him a proud smile, “But he graduated with distinction.”

Ellie began to vibrate where she stood, Chuck knew she was trying to not make too much of a scene with as excited as she was. “Go ahead, I know you want to…” he rolled his eyes as Ellie let forth an excited squeal before launching herself into her brother’s arms and cheering.

“I knew you could do it!” She enthused, “Aces, Charles, you’re Aces.”

“Wow, a Dad quote, I’m impressed,” Chuck smiled warmly down at his sister who was a whole head shorter than himself.

“Well, you really impressed me, Chuck,” Ellie beamed, “I am so proud of you. We really don’t have anything to celebrate with here, just some beer, but I promise, I’ll throw you a huge graduation party when we get home. You can finally move on with your life, now.”

“I’m already ahead of you, Sis,” Chuck assured his sister, “I was approached by a company who was willing to hire me after I impressed them with my skills at the BuyMore. They didn’t much care that I hadn’t finished college, but they recognize talent when they see it, I guess.”

“You were headhunted… from the BuyMore?” Ellie raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Looks that way, Elle,” Chuck smiled at her, “I’m not the only one they are looking at, though. However, now that I have officially graduated, it may give me a leg up.”

“And if they chose to not go with you after all?” Ellie inquired.

“Stanford has offered me a full-ride scholarship, including housing, if I choose to pursue a graduate degree,” Chuck shrugged humbly, “The Vice President even said she would consider me for a teaching position once I earned my masters if not my PhD.”

“She seemed really impressed by him,” Sarah added, “Whether he takes either of those offers, both, or neither, I am really proud of him.”

“Please tell me the ‘neither’ option does not include the BuyMore,” Ellie groaned.

“No, it most definitely does not,” Chuck assured her, “I’m putting my notice in when I get back. The neither would be more of a ‘If I were to start my own company,’ type of thing. More than likely, I’ll take at least the position I was head hunted for at least until I can save up enough capital to make a run at starting my own tech firm. I’d really like to do something in the area of cybersecurity.”

Ellie nodded her understanding and Awesome called his buddies over to congratulate Chuck on finally being awarded his long overdue degrees. Chuck and Sarah split their time between hanging out with Ellie and Awesome and going back to the Gamma Delta Phi house sharing food and drinks with their family and friends until the game started. Chuck and Sarah sat with the Stanford alumni while Ellie and Awesome sat with their UCLA friends on the other side of the stadium. Despite neither of them being big football fans, they understood enough to enjoy the game and camaraderie as they sat snuggled under the Stanford blanket Chuck had brought with them.

After the game, they met up with Ellie and Awesome and endured some good-natured ribbing over the fact that the Bruins had crushed Stanford before parting ways to head toward their lodgings for the night.

* * *

Chuck and Sarah had just settled into bed and found a comfortable position, Chuck on his back, arm around Sarah who is curled into his side as his other hand traced small patterns along her arm as they snuggled up together. They lay like that for a little while before Chuck broke the silence. “You know what Ellie said earlier got me thinking.”

“About what?” Sarah murmured.

“Before I say anything, I just want to say there is no reason to freak out,” He prefaced, “It’s just something to think about for the future.”

“Are you talking about her assumption that after only two months of dating that we eloped?” She chuckled softly, “Yeah, it got me thinking too.”

“Really?” Chuck looked down at her.

“Yeah,” She nodded, “I mean someday, down the road, after you work up the courage to ask me properly... I could see myself possibly saying yes. I never really thought about marriage being a part of my future, not until I met you.”

“So, you’d be okay with it?” He checked.

“Well, not tomorrow,” She snickered, “And I’d prefer to have the Riker situation taken care of so Mom and Molly can safely come back into my life first, but yeah. I think I’d really like that.”

“Agreed,” Chuck nodded, “I’m glad we’re on the same page with this.”

“Me too,” Sarah hummed.

“I love you, Jenny.” He bent down to kiss her.

“I love you too, Charlie,” She gave him a soft smile, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”


	8. Chapter 8

Chuck entered the BuyMore like a man on a mission, his resignation letter which he had meticulously crafted the night before in his messenger bag as he headed across the sales floor toward the door marked ‘Employees Only.’ Morgan, who had been helping a man with selecting a blender when his best buddy came in, immediately left his customer in pursuit of the lanky Nerd Herd supervisor.

“Hey man,” Morgan clapped his friend on the shoulder as soon as he caught up with him in the hallway leading to the employee break room, “Where were you all weekend? I came by to play a little Halo, but for some weird reason not only was your front door locked, but the Morgan door was too.”

“We weren’t home Morg,” Chuck shrugged, opening the break room door with his best friend hot on his heels. “We all went up to Palo Alto for the football game. Sarah wanted to go too, so we made a weekend out of it.”

“Ha-ha,” Morgan responded drolly, “Nice one, but I think we both know you would never willingly go up there, now what did you really do?”

Chuck rolled his eyes as he opened his locker and swung his bag off his shoulder and into the storage space after pulling his resignation letter from within the bag’s depths. “Seriously, Sarah and I road tripped it up to Palo Alto, stayed in a hotel near campus, I showed her the library, my old frat, we saw the game,” He then dropped off sotto voce as he closed his locker and headed out of the break room, “Graduated…”

Morgan stood there gob smacked watching Chuck’s retreat for a moment before his brain reengaged and he had to chase down the tall nerd once more. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right, did you just say you _graduated_?”

“Yeah,” Chuck continued walking down the hall toward Big Mike’s office.

“…From Stanford University?”

“Uh huh,” Chuck nodded.

“…The same Stanford University who expelled you for cheating on a test,” Morgan pressed, “A test that you did not in fact cheat on, but they said you did anyway despite you being a scholarship student, a highly requested tutor, and ranked at the top of your class?”

Chuck turned toward his friend, an annoyed look on his face, “Still yes, Morgan.”

“What the hell, dude?” Morgan gestured exasperatedly, “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have been there!”

“Morgan, _I_ didn’t even know they were going to,” Chuck pointed out, “The dean saw us walking across campus on our way back to the hotel and asked if he could have a moment of our time. Turns out my case was brought to the attention of the Vice President who is incidentally the chief counsel for the school.”

“This must be what going mad feels like,” Morgan muttered.

“Turns out they did not follow proper procedure before expelling me,” Chuck shrugged, “If they had, they would have found the evidence that she did which proved that I was set up. Since I had done so well on my midterms, and was ahead in most of my classes, they chose to just issue my degrees instead of making me retake my last semester.”

“Seriously?” Morgan gave him an incredulous look.

“Seriously,” Chuck confirmed with a broad smile on his face, “I’m a college graduate, they also gave me a settlement and a personal apology.”

“Wow, so I guess, congratulations?” Morgan looked unsure as he stuck out his hand to shake the taller man’s.

Chuck shifted his letter to his left hand as he shook Morgan’s hand, “Thanks.”

“Uh, Chuck?” Morgan released his friend’s hand to point at the paper in Chuck’s left hand, “What is that?”

“It’s my resignation letter,” Chuck gave his friend a small smile, “The settlement check was enough to cover some, if not most of my startup costs for the software company I’ve been wanting to start since I was in college.”

“Okay, I was wrong,” Morgan looked crestfallen, “ _This_ is what going mad feels like. You’re leaving me?”

“No,” Chuck shook his head gently, “I’m leaving the BuyMore. I’ll still be around; I just won’t be working here. It’s not like I’m moving across the country or anything, just maybe across the courtyard. I’m gonna try to get an apartment of my own at Echo Park, I can’t keep living with Ellie and Awesome. I’m pretty sure Awesome is seriously considering making them officially official.”

“’Officially official?’” Morgan raised an eyebrow in disbelief, “What does that mean?”

“I overheard him talking to the Very Awesomes the other day, asking them to bring something out with them when they come for Thanksgiving,” A small smile graced Chuck’s face at the thought, “I’m pretty sure he’s planning to propose to Ellie soon.”

“No, no, that can’t be right,” Morgan shook his head in disbelief, “It’s like my life isn’t my life anymore! I lose you, first to Stanford, but they kicked you out, so I got you back, but then Sarah comes along out of nowhere! This smoking hot babe who has, admittedly, good taste enough to snap you up, and suddenly Stanford changes their mind and gives you your degree with a huge enough check to get you to leave the BuyMore to boot! Which leads to me not being able to work with my best friend, my brother from another mother, my heterosexual life partner…”

“Morgan, what have I told you about not using that term?” Chuck groused.

“But now the love of my life is marrying another man?!” Morgan continued on, not even acknowledging Chuck’s protest. “What the hell is happening to me?”

“Morgan!” Chuck practically shouted, “Believe it or not, not everything revolves around you. If the whole Stanford expulsion thing hadn’t happened in the first place, I might have worked at the BuyMore for a few months to save up capitol to start my software company and would have left by now. As for Sarah, she is one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. I love her, more than I ever loved anyone, even Jill. She’s it for me, and yes, that means I have less time for you, but it doesn’t mean I’m abandoning you. It just means you can’t come over at all hours of the day or night for impromptu gaming sessions because I may be out with her or she might be in with me, and if I have my way, she will eventually move in with me and someday even marry me, but we’re not quite there yet.”

“Fine, I will concede the victory to the leggy Valkyrie,” Morgan huffed, “But what about our gaming sessions?”

“We can still have them, Morgan,” Chuck insisted, “We’ll just have to schedule them in advance now, it’s not the end of the world. Now as for Ellie, you really need to let that go. You’re my best friend and I love you, but that’s never going to happen. She loves Awesome, has for a long time, and I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t suffered my fantastical fall from academic glory, resulting in me moving back home to be her brother-child again, they would probably have been married by now with a kid or two of their own.”

“Way to kick a guy when he’s down,” Morgan grumbled.

“Morgan, it’s not my job to ensure you are happy all the time,” Chuck shook his head sadly, “Sometimes… sometimes I have to do what’s best for me. This,” He shook the paper in his hand, “Is what is best for me, Sarah is what is best for me, and Awesome, well, he’s what is best for Ellie. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go have a word with Big Mike.”

Chuck turned and walked the rest of the way down the hall, trying to not let the dejected look on his friend’s face sway his decision. For too long his life had revolved around his best friend, his sister, the betrayal he’d suffered at the hands of Bryce, and Jill, and Stanford, this was his time. Arriving at Big Mike’s door, he took a moment to let the contentment of his decision wash over him, strengthening himself for the conversation he was about to have before knocking on the door.

“Enter,” Big Mike’s terse response echoed from within the room as Chuck slowly opened the door.

“Big Mike, may I have a few moments of your time?” He inquired as he entered the small room and took a seat on the other side of his rotund manager’s desk, “There’s something I need to speak to you about.”


	9. Chapter 9

Morgan watched through the window as Chuck took a seat in front of Big Mike and handed him the letter. The two men had a short discussion before they both stood and shook hands. Morgan could not understand why Big Mike wasn’t fighting for Chuck to stay. He knew that Big Mike was looking for a new assistant manager and it was pretty much down to Chuck and the power hungry, queue-ball, dictator in waiting, Harry Tang. With Chuck gone, it was entirely likely Big Mike would have no other choice than to promote Tang to the AssMan position. Morgan was still quasi-spiraling when it looked as if Big Mike and Chuck were about to walk toward the door where he stood. Thinking quickly, Morgan pressed himself up against the wall in hopes they wouldn’t see him. As the door swung open, he was able to hear a bit of their discussion.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to work my last two weeks of shifts?” Chuck gave his long-time manager a quizzical look.

“No, let those morons, Lester and Jeff actually do something for a change,” Big Mike clapped him on the shoulder, “This is long overdue, I’ve already had you five years longer than I should have. You have two weeks of vacation time coming to you, go ahead and take it. We’ll officially call it in two weeks’ time but until then, give yourself a break. If you don’t want to, at least you’ll be drawing a paycheck while you get started on your new path.”

“Thanks, Big Mike,” Chuck smiled, astonished at the older man’s generosity.

“Hey, you deserve it,” Big Mike countered, “If those yahoos up at Stanford had just done their jobs in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to take you back. As of this moment, you are no longer my problem. I’m damn proud of you, Son. This was a long time coming for you and well deserved. What you do from here on out is up to you. Go ahead and clean out your locker, you can keep the swag you got over the years.”

Chuck nodded and withdrew his pocket protector and ID from his breast pocket and handed it to Big Mike before shaking the man’s hand once more, “It’s been… interesting working for you, Big Mike.”

“No need to sugar coat it,” Big Mike rolled his eyes, “It’s a mad house, but it’s my mad house. These are my people, they were never really yours, go find your people Chuck.” He then raised his voice slightly, “Maybe seeing you prosper outside of the BuyMore will motivate slackers like Morgan to get their act together. Don’t think I can’t see you there, Grimes, get out on the sales floor!”

“Yes, Big Mike,” Morgan scurried off as the men shared an amused look.

“I really hope he gets his act together,” Big Mike huffed good naturedly, “That boy has what it takes to make something of himself if he would just redirect all the effort, he puts into avoiding work, into something productive. For my sake, I hope it’s soon, I really don’t want to make that ass monkey, Tang my new assistant manager. It’s hard enough to keep him from discovering me and the Lady Tang’s extracurricular activities.”

“Wow, that was more information that I needed to know, Big Mike,” Chuck’s eyes shot wide.

“I really don’t have a lot of options here,” Big Mike sighed, “And the Lady Tang is one fine woman.”

“What about your wife?”

“Sad to say, the Lady Big Mike is no more,” Big Mike shook his head sadly, “She’s gone to live with her Mama. Found out that I was using my fishin’ cabin for more than fishin’ if you get my meaning”

Chuck bit his lip to keep from pointing out that it was no less than the big man deserved for his adulterous ways, opting to just shake his head sadly.

“So you see, I really need someone, anyone, to step up and show me any kind of potential,” Big Mike continued on, “Like I said, I’ve seen glimmers of potential in Grimes since you two first worked for me at the Encino BuyMore, I just haven’t figured out a way to motivate the kid.”

“I’ll see if I can’t get a few words in with him before I go,” Chuck nodded, “I kinda took him down a few pegs before going into your office. He was acting as if I was abandoning him rather than moving on with my life. I mean, it’s pretty much been me and him since kindergarten.”

“It can be hard when one friend prospers when the other seems to be in a moment of stagnation,” Big Mike nodded, understandingly, “Happened to me and my best friend when my musical career took off, but then I met Gladys, and then lost her, but those are stories for another day. You see what you can do to motivate him from your side, and I’ll see what I can do about lighting a fire under that boy’s ass.”

“Good luck with that,” Chuck snickered, “Well, I’m going to go clean out the ol’ locker and be on my way.”

“You do that,” Big Mike patted his shoulder, “Don’t be a stranger, you need anything, I’ll make sure you get the friends and family discount.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Chuck nodded and headed down the hall toward the break room to retrieve the few personal items he kept stashed in his locker, sliding them into his messenger bag and heading back out toward the sales floor.”

Looking around, he spotted Morgan, leaning up against the Nerd Herd Desk, talking to a petite brunette.

“Yeah, I’m in my last year at Cal State and my computer crapped out on me!” The woman complained.

“Okay, I think we can help you with that,” Morgan nodded as Chuck walked up.

“Morgan,” Chuck broke in, “Sorry, um…”

“Alex,” The woman provided.

“…Alex,” Chuck amended, “I promise to get Morgan back to you really quick, he’s really one of the best, I just have to speak with him for a moment.”

“Sure,” Alex nodded.

“Why don’t you start looking over what we have available over there,” Morgan pointed toward a section with a couple aisles of demo laptops labeled with their individual specs, “I’ll meet up with you once Chuck and I chat and we can figure out what the best fit for you will be.”

“Thanks,” Alex smiled at him, causing Morgan to blush.

“I think she likes you, Morg,” Chuck snickered.

“Nah, she just thinks that flirting with me will get her the best deal on a new laptop.” Morgan shook his head.

“I think you’d be surprised,” Chuck mused, “She’s cute.”

“’Cute?’” Morgan’s eyebrows shot up until they were hidden under his long hair, “Dude, she is gorgeous, and way, _way_ out of my league. I mean you heard her, she’s a college girl, I can’t compete with that!”

“College isn’t everything, Morgan,” Chuck shook his head, “I have it on good authority that, if you get your act together and stop screwing around, you could easily be in the running to become assistant store manager. And you’d be a better option than Tang.”

“Jeff would be a better option than Tang and he’s barely conscious on a good day,” Morgan rolled his eyes, “Besides, I’ not interested. I’ve worked hard at crafting my slacker persona, why undo all the work now?”

“Maybe because you are a natural leader, despite what you may think, and you are actually a pretty decent salesman when you put your mind to it,” Chuck pointed out, “I mean, how you opened with Alex, top notch. Seriously, man, if you get your self together, actually let yourself give a crap about your job and prospects, you could be a contender. Not many college graduates are able to attain middle management right out of school, so you’d already have a leg up over those guys.”

“I would, wouldn’t I?” Morgan agreed, thoughtfully.

“Not to mention that part of assistant manager training is attending the El Segundo School of Finance.” Chuck added, “And corporate offers tuition reimbursement if you want to pursue a degree.”

“Okay, fine,” Morgan huffed, “I’ll think about it, but no promises.”

“Thank you,” Chuck grinned, his work complete, “And I wanted to apologize if I was a little short with you earlier.”

“Nah, man, it’s fine,” Morgan shook his head, “It was my fault anyway. I didn’t have your back. I’m really happy for you that the Stanford bigwigs got their heads out of their collective ass and made things right. I know you were made for bigger things than the BuyMore, it just sucks that you’re moving on and I’m still here.”

“I’m not going too far,” Chuck gave his friend a soft smile, “I may eventually go back to get my master’s, and I have a standing job offer to teach up there if I want to get my doctorate, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.”

“You just worry about doing what’s right for you,” Morgan poked his friend’s chest on the last three words of his advice. “I’ll support you and be proud of you no matter what.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Chuck nodded, “Well, I’m get out of your way because I see Tang birddogging your sale and you don’t want him to scare her off.”

“Good idea,” Morgan nodded and turned to resume his sale.

“And if she is as interested as she seems to be, ask her out,” Chuck advised, “If it works out, we always have room for one more at Ellie’s Thanksgiving Day dinner.”

“That’s coming up soon, right?” Morgan looked back at his best friend wide eyed.

“About a month, we got to get through Halloween, next week, first,” Chuck pointed out.

“Sandworm?” Morgan suggested.

“I think it’s time we retire the sandworm,” Chuck grimaced.

“Brainstorming sesh tomorrow, then,” Morgan pointed at his buddy, “I’ve got a laptop to sell.”

“Good luck Buddy!” Chuck laughed as he watched his friend eagerly scurry toward the young woman he had been talking to before, narrowly edging out Tang’s approach. Satisfied things were as good as they were going to get for the Burbank BuyMore, Chuck turned and exited out the front doors.

* * *

Chuck and Sarah were cuddled up on the living room couch, enjoying their time together and reveling in the good news they had received. Chuck was now, officially the team analyst, with a joint contract with the CIA and NSA, in order to make sure he was properly compensated for his work, he would be payed $32,500 a year from each agency with a $5,000 signing bonus from each, once training was completed. Which was more than triple what he was making at the BuyMore. He would have to travel out to DC for a couple months for abbreviated training from both agencies, Sarah and Casey would also be traveling with him as they would serve as his escorts at the agencies. As luck would have it, they were both due for their yearly quals, so when Chuck was with one, the other would be going through firearms recertification, physicals, and mental evaluations. The time they spent with Chuck at his own training would then count as their recurrent training for their respective agency.

“So, I guess we probably should hold off on buying a house until after my training is complete,” Chuck postulated as he let his hand and fingers draw gentle circles on Sarah’s upper arm. He felt her stiffen slightly and look up at him. “Unless that’s too soon, because I totally get if that would be too soon.”

“Charlie, baby, you’re spiraling,” She snickered, reaching up to gently turn his face to look at her, “It’s not that I don’t want to move in with you, because I do, I know that I see a future for us. One that hopefully includes Molly and a younger sibling or two someday.”

“I like the way you think, Jenny,” Chuck grinned down at her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

“But before we put down roots, there are a few things we need to take into consideration,” She sat up and turned to face him, taking his hands in her own. “First, we don’t know if we are going to be based in Burbank, or somewhere else, nor do we know for how long. Secondly, I want Molly to be with us as soon as we can, which means we have to figure out a way to deal with the Riker situation sooner than later. Thirdly, once Molly is safe, and if or when we find Orion to have the Intersect removed from your head, do we want to stay with the CIA? What will that mean for our jobs? Will I stay an operative, or will I become an analyst as well? Or will we just choose to completely leave that life and retire? Also, how much of a possibility is there that you might want to attend graduate classes at Stanford and to what end? Would you want to eventually teach there? What if we chose to stay with the agency and the CIA has you continue on for your PhD so you can be faculty and take over for Fleming as an on-campus recruiter? Also, what if I want to pursue graduate school? Would I be allowed to pursue my graduate level courses while you do yours? ...”

“Wow, okay,” Chuck gave his girlfriend a soft smile, “And you said I was spiraling.”

“Sorry,” Sarah blushed.

“Jenny, you don’t ever have to be embarrassed for spiraling,” Chuck assured her, “It’s practically a requirement for being a Bartowski, because I think we both know that is exactly what you are, even if it isn’t in name just yet,” He squeezed her hands reassuringly, “So, if you will allow me to condense all of that into something a little more succinct. You don’t want us to buy a place together yet because there is still too much in the air between Molly’s safety, the Intersect, where our careers may ultimately take us, and the potential for one or both of us pursuing our graduate degrees whether we retire from the agency or not and how that may affect future postings if we pursue said degrees while still employed by the CIA and NSA.”

“Basically,” Sarah shrugged.

“Alright, then how about we start small,” Chuck met her eyes, “Jenny, how would you feel about finding a rental that we share. Could be one bedroom or two bedroom, preferably with a short-term lease that we can break early if need be and we are reassigned?”

“So long as that second bedroom is a guest bedroom or eventually Molly’s,” Sarah amended, “Because if we are sharing a home, whether a house, a condo, or a tent in some nudist commune…”

“Sexy,” Chuck grinned.

“Focus, Charlie,” She snapped her fingers in front of his face bringing him out of his mental images of what she might look like undercover and uncovered in such a place, “Like I was saying is that, if we are sharing a place to live, we will be sleeping in the same bed.”

“I think I could be on board for that,” Chuck grinned.

“We also should hold of on apartment hunting until after your training is finished,” Sarah smiled as Chuck nodded his agreement, “We don’t know where we will be posted after that, and wherever they place us, if it’s not here or DC where I currently have an apartment, they will put us up in a hotel until the assignment is either done or until we can find a semi-permanent place of our own. Oh, and you’ll be staying at my apartment with me while we are in D.C. Casey’s permanent residence is in the BOQ at Fort Mead, and it’s too much of a security risk to have you stay alone.”

“Alright, that make sense,” Chuck nodded his understanding, “I’m not gonna complain about having to share an apartment with my super smart, saucy, sexy girlfriend while I’m in D.C. Plus, the time I’m in training will give me time to save up my income a bit. No matter where we wind up posted, I will be needing a car. Now that I don’t work at BuyMore, I need a vehicle to get around without being at the mercy of you, Ellie, and Awesome.”

“Makes sense,” Sarah agreed, “Now there’s also the matter of being reassigned if the team is ever broken up.”

“I don’t want us to be assigned apart from each other,” Chuck shook his head.

“I don’t either, there are really only two ways to get around that,” Sarah advised, “We can petition Graham to assign you to me as my personal field analyst so long as I am an agent.”

“And the other option?” Chuck tilted his head, his curls bouncing, causing him to look like a curious cocker spaniel. Sarah couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips, “What?”

“Sorry,” She shook her head, “You just looked so damned cute.”

“Whatever,” Chuck rolled his eyes and gestured for her to continue her previous thought.

“The other option is to get married. Married agents or analyst/agent couples cannot be separated unless their marriage is terminated,” Sarah gave a small shrug, “And as much as I would love to be married to you someday, it’s just a bit too soon to make that step.”

“Probably,” Chuck nodded, “Probably should give it a few more weeks before I start ring shopping, right?”

Sarah let out a laugh that was so infectious Chuck had to join in, and before they knew it, they were in tears from their laughter, holding onto each other.

“Oh no! What happened?” Morgan gasped, letting himself into the living room after entering through the Morgan Door to see the two, wrapped up in an embrace, shoulders shaking, and mistaking their tears for sorrow rather than joy.

“Noth…nothing, Buddy,” Chuck shook his head, wiping the tears from Sarah’s eyes and his own before pressing a soft kiss to his girlfriend’s lips. “Sarah and I were just sharing an inside joke from our time on Catalina Island in high school.”

“Ah, okay,” Morgan nodded, plopping himself in an armchair not too far from his best friend and his best friend’s girl, pulling the messenger bag he’d had slung across his body over his head and setting it on the ground to rummage through before extracting a spiral bound notebook and a pen he proceeded to click as he often did when in Dr. Morgan mode.

“What can I help you with?” Chuck turned to his friend.

“We said we were going to brainstorm Halloween costumes for next week,” Morgan reminded him.

“Right, I kinda forgot about that, man.” Chuck blushed, “Sorry.”

“No problem Chuck, you have a lot on your mind,” Morgan waved off his friend’s concern, “Between leaving the BuyMore, figuring out where you are going to do no, not to mention your smoking hot girlfriend, no offense, Sarah.”

“None taken,” Sarah shook her head at her boyfriend’s ridiculous friend.

“So, I took it upon myself to come up with a few suggestions.” Morgan nodded, opening up the notebook with one hand while twirling his pen in his other hand, “Okay, so my first suggestion is Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes as Captain America and the Winter soldier.”

“No,” Chuck shook his head, “Love you buddy, but neither of us have the physique to pull that off.”

“Maybe _he_ doesn’t, you on the other hand…” Sarah added under her breath, running her hand up his arms to the muscles that lay under his shirt, causing Chuck to blush. Thankfully, Morgan didn’t notice.

“Okay, sticking with the Marvel theme, Fandral the Dashing and Volstagg, maybe get Fernando or someone to dress up as Hogun?” Morgan suggested, “You’ll need to dye your hair blonde, though, or it might not work.”

“Do you have anything that’s not Marvel?” Chuck arched his eyebrow.

“Mario and Luigi, clearly, I’d be Mario,” Morgan offered.

“Next?”

“Batman and Rob…”

“Absolutely not!” Chuck’s eyes widened.

“Inigo Montoya and Fezzik?” Morgan gave his friend a ‘good idea, huh?’ look.

“Inigo and Westley?” Chuck countered.

“That is a little awkward since they really aren’t friends until near the end of the movie.” Morgan hedged.

“True, but Sarah could be Buttercup then,” Chuck added.

“That would still be awkward because I’d still be a third wheel since Westley and Buttercup are the real pair there,” Morgan frowned, then his eyes lit up, “I got it, but it’s a bit obvious.

“Hit me, little buddy,” Chuck had a feeling he knew what was coming, and he wasn’t disappointed.

“Since you want your girl included, how about Han, Leia, and Chewie?” Morgan was getting excited.

“I like it,” Sarah nodded, “But on the stipulation that I get to choose my own costume.”

“I don’t know, Sarah,” Morgan hedged.

“Ignore him,” Chuck cut off his friend, “Wear whichever Leia costume you like.”

“Thank you, Baby,” Sarah kissed her boyfriend’s cheek.

“I guess that will work,” Morgan shrugged, “Chuck, should I order your costume when I get mine?”

“Nah, I got it,” Chuck shook his head, “You should probably get going, though, before it gets too dark to ride home safely.”

Morgan shot a look to the window next to the front door, “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll see you later, man.”

“Call before you come over if you plan to drop by,” Chuck advised, “I don’t know how much time I’m going to be spending at home.”

Morgan looked between his best friend and Sarah, who was practically in Chuck’s lap she was sitting so close to the tall nerd, a knowing smirk spreading across his face, “I got ya, don’t want to interrupt anything with your ladylove.”

“What are you Deadpool all of a sudden?” Chuck scoffed.

“I wish,” Morgan chuckled, “Well, maybe without the disfigurement…”

“And on that note, goodnight, Morgan,” Chuck said pointedly.

“Right, goodnight.” Morgan nodded and headed toward Chuck’s bedroom.

“Front door, Morgan,” Chuck rolled his eyes, making a mental note to start locking his bedroom window, especially if Sarah was potentially staying over.

“Of course,” Morgan nodded, waved his goodbye and headed out the front door.

“We will still be here next week, right?” Chuck checked with his girlfriend who had resumed her position snuggled up against his side.

“Yes, we’ll still be here,” Sarah nodded, “We won’t leave for DC until Friday.”

“Which leaves us Thursday to recover from the party,” Chuck stated, when his girlfriend gave him a questioning look he gave her a small smile, “Without fail, Morgan spikes the punch at Ellie’s parties, but for some reason he always manages to spike the bowl that was already doctored rather than the non-alcoholic punch.”

“Why am I not surprised by that?” Sarah snickered.

“Because it’s Morgan,” Chuck shrugged, joining in on his girlfriend’s laughter. “So, if we are flying to DC on the second of November, what about Thanksgiving?”

“Since training will take breaks for the holidays, we will be sent back to L.A. for Thanksgiving, your training should be done before Christmas, so we should be back in town for that and New Year,” Sarah stated, “Anything left to learn at that point can be done in the field by Casey and me. I know we have been running together and you and Awesome have been doing some free weight training, but I would like you to start adding self-defense into your routine, which means your fitness routine will need to be updated accordingly. Nothing to bulk you up too much, mostly just endurance and flexibility.”

“Why do I get the feeling you have an ulterior motive with this, Jenny?” He teased, causing Sarah to blush.

“I didn’t mean it _that_ way,” She stammered out.

“I know,” Chuck grinned, “You just kinda walked right into it. For the record though, I’m on board, especially if we can work on the endurance and flexibility training together.”

“You are such a tease, Charlie!” Sarah scoffed, “I like it.”

“I like it too.” Chuck smiled down at her warmly, “Hey it’s getting kinda late, are you wanting to stay over? I mean Ellie and Awesome are on the overnight, so its not like they’re going to interrupt anything.”

“As appealing as that offer is, we have an early conference call with Graham and Beckman tomorrow,” Sarah sighed, “I didn’t bring anything with me for tomorrow, so it’s probably better that I stay at my hotel for the night.”

Chuck nodded, “Yeah, it would kinda suck to have to wake up super early just to do the walk and drive of shame back to your place to change, only to drive all the way back here to Casey’s for the conference. I wish you could stay, though.”

“Me too,” Sarah leaned up to kiss him softly, “But look at it this way, in another week, we’ll be sharing an apartment for two months, with no… okay relatively fewer interruptions from family and friends, at least.” This got a chuckle out of her boyfriend, “I really do have to go, if I’m going to get any kind of sleep tonight.” She added slowly rising from her seat and crossing to the door, Chuck following close behind her.

“Okay, I’ll see you in the morning,” Chuck wrapped his hands around her hips and pulled her closer to press a soft kiss to her lips which quickly led to more as she wrapped her arms around his neck and his long arms slid around her waist to hold her fast to his body as the kiss deepened. When the need for air became too much, they slowly separated, “I love you, Jenny.”

“I love you too, Charlie,” She matched his grin with one of her own, “I’ll see you in the morning. Good night.”

“Good night,” Chuck opened the door for her and stood in the doorway, watching until she was safely in her car and driving off into the night toward the hotel where she was temporarily residing.


	10. Chapter 10

The Halloween party was in full swing by the time Sarah had arrived. The courtyard was so packed that it took her a few moments to locate Ellie and Awesome, who were dressed as Adam and Eve and attached at the hip as they socialized with their guests. Ellie, the ever-efficient hostess noticed her almost immediately and had started making her excuses to go meet up with her brother’s girlfriend.

“Sarah, oh my God, you look amazing!” The older woman squealed, taking in the full effect of the costume Sarah was wearing. She had her hair tied up in a braided bun and the dress she wore had Grecian sleeves, a scooped neckline, and a long flowing skirt that moved gracefully with her every motion. The silver chunky necklace was nearly identical to the one worn in the film from which the inspiration for the costume came from, and the silver belt she wore over the bodice of the gown accentuated her trim waistline.

“Thanks,” Sarah blushed at Ellie’s praise.

“Just wait until Chuck sees you!” Ellie crowed, “You are gonna knock his socks off. Although, Morgan may be a little disappointed that you didn’t wear the famous gold bikini.”

“I didn’t know how many of Chuck and Morgan’s friends and coworkers would be here,” Sarah shrugged, “And I’d rather not spend the evening perpetrating that particular nerdy wet dream.”

Ellie snorted at Sarah’s wry delivery, “I don’t blame you.”

Sarah nodded at the woman who was fast becoming her friend, “You look pretty good too, but are you sure you really want Devon showing that much skin?”

“We switch of who chooses the costumes every year,” Ellie shook her head, “This year was his choice, not one of my favorites, but I can deal with it. Especially since I know who he’s going, or rather staying home, with.”

“Good point,” Sarah chuckled, “I’m gonna go see if I can’t find Chuck.”

The two women shared a smile before going their separate ways to find their respective significant others.

Sarah quietly slipped into the apartment where she saw Chuck in the kitchen through the pass-through. He was wearing an outfit that consisted of a white dress shirt, black vest and dark blue pants, black knee-high boots, and a thigh holster which held a blaster. His back was to her as he poured a bag of pretzels into a large aluminum bowl. She snuck up behind him and covered his eyes.

“Who’s there?” He asked.

Sarah smiled as she lifted up on her toes to whisper into his ear, “Someone who loves you.”

“Morgan, how did you get so tall?” He teased, removing her hands from his eyes and turning around to see her, “Hey there Princess.”

“Hey, Flyboy,” She smiled up at him and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“Did you say something, man?” Morgan asked as he passed, walking into the living room from the hallway.

Sarah looked over her shoulder to notice Morgan, who surprisingly, was not dressed as Chewbacca, “Isn’t he a little short to be a stormtrooper?” She murmured low enough for Chuck to hear.

“Don’t even get into it with him,” Chuck rolled his eyes, “There was a whole thing with the costume reservations. Apparently, the shop double booked the Men’s small Chewbacca costume and all they had left were Ewoks and Storm troopers.”

“The only man who should ever dress as an Ewok is the great Warwick Davis!” Morgan proclaimed indignantly.

“I’m sorry you weren’t able to get the costume you wanted, Morgan,” Sarah gave him a sympathetic smile.

Morgan eyed her up and down before picking up a bowl and walking toward the front door, but not before throwing a “You look nice, Sarah,” Over his shoulder.

“Do I want to know?” Sarah let her eyes flick over to Morgan’s retreating form.

“He was probably hoping you would show up in the gold slave bikini,” Chuck shrugged.

“Who said I didn’t?” She teased, pressing up against him, trapping Chuck between the counter and her body. “Ooh, is that a blaster in your holster or are you happy to see me?”

“A little bit of both,” Chuck blushed slightly, “We should probably start circulating before Ellie comes after us.”

“At least we won’t have to worry about a walking carpet in my way tonight,” Sarah grinned innocently at her boyfriend before grabbing the bowl of pretzels he’d poured out and spinning on her heel to carry the bowl to the snack table that had been set up in the courtyard.

“You are going to be the death of me, woman,” Chuck huffed, following her into the courtyard. They made sure that Ellie saw them circulating, not only with the few BuyMorons who had been invited, such as Skip, Anna, and Francisco, but among Ellie and Awesome’s coworkers, some of which were women Ellie had tried, unsuccessfully, to set Chuck up with in the past.

Every so often kids, would show up in the archway that marked the entrance to the complex, causing one of the adults to grab the bowl of wrapped candy that sat on a nearby table to drop a few pieces in to the kids’ bags. As luck would have it, Chuck and Sarah were the closest ones there when a group of kids dressed as various Star Wars characters including Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and Darth Vader. The kids begged them for a picture, of course Chuck and Sarah gladly obliged, even grabbing Morgan to join in the impromptu photo shoot.

The party began to slowly die down around midnight as cabs were called, designated drivers led passengers out to the parking lot. Morgan even tossed his bike in the back of Skip’s truck and caught a ride home with him. That left Ellie, Devon, Chuck, and Sarah to clean up the party. An hour later found them sitting on the ledge of the fountain in the newly cleaned courtyard, sipping beer and wine, and decompressing from the party.

“So, Chuck, are you packed for your trip yet?” Ellie asked. Chuck and Sarah had told Ellie that Chuck was traveling to DC for a national agency who wanted to hire him as a tech consultant for their West Coast branches, but wanted to make sure he was correctly trained on their system, and that Sarah was going to go with him to visit friends back East.

“Yep,” Chuck nodded, taking a swig from the bottle of beer he held in his free hand as his other was occupied entwining itself with that of his girlfriend, “Sarah even helped, made sure I packed enough warm clothes to last a week or so. The hotel they are putting me up in has a laundromat on site, so I can wash my clothes as I go.”

“Are you planning to sight see while you’re there?” Devon jumped in.

“Yeah, I’ll have weekends free, so we have plans to check out the National Mall, the Smithsonian, the White House, you know the usual places,” Chuck shrugged, “Might take the train up to New York on one of the weekends, maybe catch a Broadway show. Sarah’s never been to a show there and you know how much of a musical theater fan I am.”

“What would you see?” Ellie asked.

“Depends on what is playing,” Chuck shrugged, “Could be RENT, Les Mis, The Lion King, or even Phantom of the Opera, we’ll figure it out a little closer to when we go.”

“You’ll still be back for Thanksgiving, right?” Ellie checked.

“Yeah, we’ll fly back on Wednesday and leave again on Sunday,” Sarah nodded, “I have a few things I need to take care of out there when I’m not playing extended tourist with your brother. We’ll be back a couple weeks after that.”

“Just in time to help prep for Christmas,” Chuck grinned. In reality, the two weeks after Thanksgiving would be spent on initial assignments, assuming training went as well as they were hoping, and there were no delays. “The check I got from Stanford along with the retainer fee from the agency will be enough to find an office or at least an apartment with a den or spare room I can turn into a private office.”

“You’re going to move out?” Ellie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“That’s the plan,” Chuck nodded, “Figured I’ve freeloaded off you guys long enough, it’s time to start actually being an adult, starting with getting my own place.”

“We won’t start looking until after we’re back, so the actual move probably won’t be until after the new year,” Sarah added.

“Are you two moving in together?” Devon asked, but didn’t wait for a response before the predictable, “Awesome!” Slipped from his lips.

“Haven’t quite decided that yet,” Chuck hedged, “We’ve only been together a couple months or so now, but we don’t want to rush anything.”

“Why not? You two are already doing the horizontal tango,” Devon protested.

“Devon!” Ellie scolded as both Chuck and Sarah turned red, “That’s none of our business.”

“And on that note,” A wide-eyed Chuck broke in, “I think it’s time we head out. We have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow to get ready for the trip and we are leaving from Sarah’s place on Saturday morning.”

“Will I see you again before you leave?” Ellie pouted.

“Yeah, we’ll be here for dinner tomorrow, as always,” Chuck assured her, “But tonight and tomorrow night, I’m crashing with her.”

“Ooh, private time,” Devon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the younger couple, “Awesome.”

“Okay, that’s enough for tonight,” Ellie stood and nudged her husband to do the same. “I think it’s time for us to go to bed. Please drive safe and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, Love ya, Sis,” Chuck stood and bent down to hug his sister’s slightly shorter frame before exchanging a bro-hug with Devon.

“Love you too, baby brother,” Ellie smiled as she hugged him.

“Thank you for having me,” Sarah joined in, hugging first Awesome then Ellie.

“Thanks for coming,” Ellie wrapped Sarah in a strong hug that left her nearly as breathless as her boyfriend’s kisses.

As Ellie and Awesome headed inside, Chuck ducked into his room and grabbed his rolling suitcase and messenger bag that he was taking on his trip. Wrapping his arm around Sarah’s shoulders, he led her out to her car, a candy apple red, 2006, Porsche Spider. He slid his bags in the trunk as Sarah unlocked the doors and soon, they were on their way.

When they had arrived at Sarah’s hotel room, Chuck lifted his suitcase onto the couch. Flipping it open, he began to rummage around within.

“What are you doing?” Sarah gave him an amused look as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Um, getting ready for bed?” Chuck gave her a puzzled look as he lifted a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt from the bag, “I’m tired.”

“I hope not too tired,” She gave him a sly smile as she reached up and removed the pins that secured the braided bun to her head, letting the woven hair fall until it lay down her back, causing Chuck to gulp. “I have a little surprise for you.”

Chuck starred, transfixed as she reached behind her and undid the zipper of her dress. He could never figure out how women were able to reach to manipulate a zipper that ran the full length of their back and was thankful that men’s garments, with extremely rare exceptions, didn’t require such contortionist abilities to wear. She removed the silver necklace she had been wearing and pushed lightly at the shoulders of her costume, letting the white material pool at her brown booted feet. Chuck’s eyes just about popped out of his head when he saw what she had worn underneath the dress.

“You weren’t kidding, Jen,” He gasped out, dropping the clothes from his hands and walking over to her.

“Oh Charlie,” She chuckled, placing her hands on his cheeks and angling his head down to look at her, “I would never tease you about something like this.”

“I can’t believe you were wearing this the whole time!” He whispered.

“Yep,” She grinned, letting her hands drift to rest at the nape of his neck, her fingers playing absentmindedly with his curls as his hands gently bracketed her hips. “But it was only ever meant for your eyes. Only you will ever see me wear this.”

“Jenny you look… wow,” Chuck struggled to find his words, “I mean you were absolutely gorgeous at the party but knowing _this_ was underneath that dress makes it even hotter.” He blushed, “Not that you aren’t always…”

“Charlie,” She giggled, pressing a finger to his lips to put an end to his rambling. “Don’t worry, I understood what you meant. I think the real question is did the reality live up to the fantasy?”

Chuck simply nodded until Sarah let her hand slip back to where her other one still played with the animal shapes that were forming in his curls, “Most definitely, at least so far.”

“’So far?’” Sarah smiled up at him, “There was more?”

“Only a little,” Chuck shrugged, a slight tint of pink rising to his cheeks in embarrassment, “I would say something incredibly cheesy like, ‘That looks really uncomfortable, maybe I can help you with that,’”

Sarah sent him a flirtatious grin as she slipped one of her hands around to his shoulder and then down the front of his shirt. She stepped forward and grabbed a hold of his shirt as she whispered huskily, “I appreciate the offer, maybe I can help you with releasing your blaster,” She grinned at how flustered he got, his fingers digging into the flesh that rested just below the metallic bottoms of the bikini as he tried to keep control of himself.

“You know, in order to help, you actually need to move your hands,” She teased, kissing him as she remove her hand from his curls and traced it down his side to the front of his thigh, where she deftly released the snap that secured his blaster to his leg before joining it’s mate to unbuckle his belt, letting it fall to the floor as she backed him toward the bed.

“I, uh, well, I feel you are at a bit of a disadvantage, clothing wise,” Chuck stammered, “I’m wearing quite a bit more layers than, ahem, you are.”

Sarah suppressed a snicker at his expense and smiled, coyly, up at him, “Well, there’s no rule that says you can’t help get yourself to the appropriate level if disrobement.”

Chuck grinned, nodded and helped her to remove his vest and shirt. Leaving him in his sleeveless undershirt, blue pants, and black boots. “I think that puts us about even,” He smiled, leaning down to capture her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands slowly making their way upwards to release the closure of the bikini top. Sarah smiled against his lips as she pulled his shirt from where it was tucked into his pants and pulled it over his head.

The paused only long enough to remove their boots before they both fell back on the bed, unsure who actually started the fall onto the mattress, but neither caring as they continued to disrobe each other. At some point Sarah reached over and hit the switch on the lamp casting the room in shadow as they made love in the moonlight streaming through the break in the curtains.


	11. Chapter 11

The training at Langley and Fort Mead was simultaneously easier and harder than Chuck had expected. He’d always been in good shape, but the physical training he’d had to start wore him out, especially when Casey had insisted they start including the obstacle course. The running at first wasn’t too bad, a few miles at first, that, he could handle, but within a week and a half, they had him up to nearly 10 miles every other day. He soon learned he would need the endurance to battle the obstacle course, it was almost as if Casey was wanting him to go through the modified Marine Force Recon Training. It was taxing mentally and physically for him, but in the end, at least he was able to say he did it.

On days he wasn’t with Casey, he and Sarah went through their own personal training, which was a hybrid of initial training for Chuck and recurrent for Sarah. When he wasn’t in training with Sarah, he was meeting with the section of the cybersecurity task force that was based at Langley. At first the people on the task force were pretty cool. Chuck quickly found out many of them shared some of his same interests and passions. Unfortunately, by the end of week two, someone had found out his hacker handle and it spread through the department like wildfire. The reactions of the team ranged from hero worship, to blatant disbelief, even open animosity. The only person who didn’t treat him any differently was a guy a couple years younger than him who had been recruited out of MIT. Manoosh soon became is best friend on campus when Sarah wasn’t around, and even when she was, the younger man seemed to be in awe that not only was Chuck the Piranha, but he was partnered with the infamous Agent Walker.

“Do you know they call her the Ice Queen?” Manoosh asked as they sat together at a nearby hole in the wall, “They say she was forged from he same glacier as the legendary Agent Frost.”

“Why do they call her that?” Chuck inquired of his friend over their lunch of nacho samplers.

“Because she is cold, calculated, like she has ice water in her veins,” Manoosh had explained, deadly serious. Chuck had stared at his friend a few moments to see if the man was joking before throwing his head back and laughing uproariously. “What’s so funny?”

“Are we talking about the same Sarah Walker?” Chuck arched an incredulous brow at the younger man, “I think you need to check your facts, man. She is the furthest from cold and calculating. She is funny and engaging, and wicked talented. If you could just listen to her play violin, you would know how deep those waters run.”

“Agent Walker plays the violin?” Manoosh was surprised by the revelation as very little was known about the illusive Ice Queen.

“Yeah, and I play the guitar and flute,” Chuck shrugged, “Well I play the guitar, gave up the flute after high school.”

“You’ve heard her play?” Manoosh was getting excited.

“I’ve played with her,” Chuck smiled, taking a sip from his soda, “We have been working together for a few months now and found ourselves with some time on our hands one weekend, so we drove down to Catalina Island and did a little busking. Turns out neither of us were really all that well off as kids, so we both used to busk for pocket money from time to time.”

“What are you boys gabbing about?” Sarah asked, taking a seat next to Chuck.

“Chuck here was just telling me that you are musically inclined,” Manoosh grinned.

Sarah shot Chuck a side look and rolled her eyes when he shrugged without an ounce of apology in the gesture. “Yeah, I play a little violin,” She shrugged, no reason to lie about it now, “Was in the school orchestra, even played with the string quartet at my university.”

“Now, that I didn’t know,” Chuck pointed out, an impressed look on his face.

“Can I hear you play?” Manoosh gave her an eager puppy look, practically begging her to agree.

“Sadly, no, my violin is still in L.A.” She shook her head, “The time we are spending in D.C. is supposed to be focused on training, not finding a nearby pier upon which to collect tourist’s pocket money.”

“Okay, point taken,” Chuck held up his hands in mock surrender. “So, what’s next on the agenda? I’m sure you had a reason to come get me aside from my looks, charm, and impeccable taste in Tex-Mex inspired appetizers.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “Yeah, we have a training class to get to.”

“Which one?” Manoosh’s eyes widened with curiosity.

“’Infiltration and Inducement of Enemy Personnel,’” Sarah stated simply, “And if you don’t hurry up, we’re gonna be late.”

“Not that Agent Montgomery would be able to tell,” Manoosh snickered, “The man is likely so souced he doesn’t even know what day it is.”

“Be that as it may,” Sarah rolled her eyes, “We do need to go.”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” Chuck huffed good naturedly, laying down bills to cover his part of the check and standing to join his partner.

“Have fun at seduction school,” Manoosh teased, waving at them as they walked off.

As expected, Roan Montgomery spent the majority of his lecture making and downing one martini after another, of course demonstrating the correct way to drink one, ‘Hold by stem, nod at mark, slowly tip back.”

When it came to demonstrating his flirting ability, Chuck was relieved that Sarah had handed him a small tin of Altoids on their way back to Langley, so his breath wouldn’t be an issue. He was gentlemanly, engaged in a little complimentary flirting with his ‘mark’ Sarah, and quickly found a common cultural interest, which in this case was the upcoming National Symphony Orchestra performance. Sarah had later mentioned that she really was interested in going as it would fall over one of their training breaks. Chuck, of course, promptly purchased tickets in the balcony so they could revisit some of their favorite activities from when they’d first met.

Roan had insisted that while compliments and flirting were all well and good, he still needed to see how good of a kisser Chuck was. Chuck nodded, and cupping Sarah’s jaw in his hand, bent his head to press a soft kiss to her lips that left her weak in the knees, as it did every time he kissed her in such a way. This was not good enough for Roan who insisted they be more passionate. Chuck shrugged and gave Sarah a challenging smile, which she returned as he pulled her into his embrace with just enough force and passion to please the aging lothario. When they separated, Sarah had to excuse herself to the bathroom to catch her breath and fix her makeup, a task made difficult by her quaking legs as she walked with shaky steps to the closest ladies’ room. Chuck was also affected, but at least with him it was as simple as leaning against the improvised bar to hide the natural result of such a make out.

“I won’t tell Diane,” Roan gave Chuck a knowing look as they waited for Sarah to return.

“Sorry?” Chuck furrowed his brow at the older man.

“You’re not her asset, and while it’s frowned upon in some circles, it’s not as big of a deal as they make it out to be.” Roan shrugged, “I mean, until the day she disappeared your mom and dad were so far gone, it was pretty commonly believed your parents would be _the_ couple to emulate.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Chuck looked at the man wide-eyed.

“Oh please, as if you don’t know,” Roan rolled his eyes then saw the mix of confusion and hurt on Chuck’s face and sobered quickly, “Oh God, you didn’t know. Didn’t your pops ever tell you how they met?”

“Yeah, they met at work,” Chuck shrugged, not fully understanding what he was hearing, “Dad was a professor at UCLA, and he and mom were assigned to a joint departmental project. They fell in love, got married, had my older sister and then me. I remember they were happy, but one day, it all fell apart. Mom just left, it was weird, there was no fight, nothing that would indicate anything was wrong. She kissed Ellie and me goodbye and left for what she said was a business trip, but she never came back. She must have known that she wasn’t coming back because she left some of her jewelry behind for Ellie and me. Dad took off a few years later, said he was going to get ingredients for pancakes. I’d been invited to join the national high school honor society, something Ellie had done when she was my age. He was going to reward me with breakfast for dinner, but instead he left and never came back.”

Roan rounded the counter and took a seat next to Chuck, “Charles, you don’t remember me, do you?”

“Should I?” Chuck looked up at the man.

“I think you would have remembered my daughter, Virginia better, I think she was one of your first crushes, at least until she met Warren and moved to New York.” Roan’s boisterous mannerisms gave way to quiet, fatherly tones, “We lived down the street from you when your mom left for a mission and disappeared. You might not remember this, but she always left her personal jewelry, her wedding rings, and that charm bracelet you’re probably thinking of giving the fair Miss Walker, behind when she went away, just in case things went sideways, and she wasn’t able to come home.”

“I helped your dad search for her as he split his time between looking for your mom, and working on his project,” Roan gave Chuck a sad smile, “I’m sad to say that your mom’s mission went pear shaped and we weren’t able to extract her or the mark she was sent after. Your dad didn’t take it well, and to make matters worse, I was recalled to Langley.”

“Wait are you telling me my parents were spies?” Chuck’s brows shot up, disbelievingly.

Neither man noticed Sarah’s entrance until she softly laid her hand on his shoulder in support. She’d heard all of what Roan had said to Chuck and her heart was breaking for him as he was informed that everything he’d been told about his parents wasn’t true, or at least wasn’t completely true.

“Your mom was,” Roan nodded, turning his head slightly to take in Sarah, “She’s actually the one your partner here is compared to and was trained in the image of. Your mother was simply known as Frost or the Frost Queen, your father was originally brought on as an asset when his doctoral thesis on programing the human brain was published. Technically, your folks weren’t allowed to have a personal relationship, they actually eloped which forced the director’s hands and your father was brought on as a company scientist. Charles, your father is Orion, the man who created the intersect that you now have in your head.”

Chuck and Sarah were surprised and shocked that Roan knew about the Intersect, and it showed on their faces. “I was read in many years ago,” Roan assured them, “As I was the other half of your father’s protection detail. My wife had some mental health issues that she refused to seek help for and wound up leaving me several years before the project was off the ground. I thought that Encino would be safer for Virginia than New York, you have no idea what kind of trolls are in New York. She actually would babysit you and your sister when you were little.”

“I think I remember that,” Chuck nodded, “She had dark hair and really blue eyes.”

“Yeah, I don’t know where the blue eyes came from, her mother and I both have dark eyes as did her grandparents,” Roan shrugged, “Recessive jeans, maybe? In any event I know about the intersect, have for years, including a certain little boy sneaking into his father’s office and playing with equipment…”

Chuck blushed, “I just wanted to see what he was doing.”

“To be honest, it’s probably why you are the only successful intersect download,” Roan shrugged, “You had that foundation from the framework you accidentally downloaded as a kid, so by the time you were sent the full intersect, your brain was primed, as it were, to take it on. I do have to say, Orion is less than thrilled that you have the intersect now. He never wanted you or Ellie mixed up in this, I frankly don’t blame him, to be honest, I’m glad that my daughter and son-in-law went into the culinary business and their kids are safe from this life.”

“You’re still in contact with my dad?” Chuck whispered, still processing everything he’d learned.

“Yeah,” Roan nodded, “Larkin told him he was sending it to you as you were the only one who he knew could keep it safe. I should point out that Larkin isn’t truly rogue, he’s undercover in Fulcrum as a part of Sandwall.”

Chuck flashed on the information and turned to Sarah, “He’s telling the truth.”

“Your dad wants to get that thing out of your head as quickly as he can, and is actively working on a way to remove or overwrite the data,” Roan informed them as he stood, rounded the makeshift bar, and made a martini, offering them each one, which they both declined. “Until then, just do the best you can with it. I hear you’ll be going out on missions again soon.”

“After Thanksgiving,” Sarah nodded, “We - Chuck, Casey, and I - are flying back to Burbank to join Ellie and her boyfriend for the holiday. When we return that next Monday, we’ll start taking off Chuck’s training wheels, so to speak. I have every confidence that he’ll do well.”

“With his lineage and ability, of that I have no doubt,” Roan nodded, swallowing his martini and slowly chewing on the olives. “There’s nothing more I can do for you, training wise, while not the most orthodox style, the kid can handle himself.” He withdrew a card from the breast pocket of the dark blazer he wore, “Just in case you need to get a hold of me for whatever reason.”

“Thanks,” Chuck took the card and shook Roan’s hand, “For everything. Now that I know, it will be hard to keep it from Ellie, but I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll help you,” Sarah assured him, “Thank you Roan.” When the older man nodded his acceptance of the gratitude, the younger couple bid their goodbyes and exited. This was the last of Chucks official training at Langley, although he had plenty of research he needed to do, in the form of old mission reports. Both Graham and Beckman made it clear that they didn’t want him to rely solely on the intersect and insisted that, despite his expedited training, that he be given the same information and mission reports to study that all agents and analyst receive during training.

He was seated on the couch in Sarah’s apartment, looking over the same report that he’d been studying for the past two hours and was starting to go cross eyed when Sarah walked in and snuggled up next to him. She wore a pair of yoga pants and one of his old Gamma Delta Phi t-shirts she’d stolen from him, God only knows when.

“Hey you,” She smiled up at him from where her head rested on his shoulder, “You gonna come to bed anytime soon?”

“Yeah, just going over this file one more time,” Chuck sighed.

“Nope,” Sarah reached out, closed the folder and tossed it on the coffee table, “No more studying tonight. We both need sleep and if you are so insistent on going over this file, you can do it on the plane tomorrow morning. We have to be there at the ass crack of dawn, so you and I are going to bed to try to get a few hours of sleep before catching our cross-country flight.”

Chuck sighed, “Fine, okay,” He leaned forward and collected the files from the coffee table before standing and walking over to his messenger bag and slipping the files into the pouch adjoining his laptop, making sure to place his bag next to his rolling suit case for quick retrieval on their way out the door the next day.

Sarah smiled as she watched him. Once he was done, she walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist, lifting up on her tip toes and pressing a kiss right along his collar where his neck met his back. He had a large freckle birthmark there that was usually hidden under his collared shirts. It was also one of the places she knew sent shivers down his spine if she kissed or even casually ran her fingers over it.

“Woman, what are you doing to me?” He chuckled warmly.

“Enticing you back to our bed,” She smiled against his back, pressing one more kiss on his neck and whispering in his ear, “Is it working?”

“You keep this up, we won’t get any sleep before our flight,” His protest was weak even to his own ears, as he knew full-well he was already under her spell.

“Meh, we can sleep on the plane,” She whispered, “Unless you have plans to join the mile-high club.” She pinched his butt and scampered off toward the bedroom.

“Hi-oh!” He gasped and followed her, turning off lights as he went, “You’re gonna get it!”

“Well come on then!” Her laughter turning in to squeals as he stalked into the bedroom, shut the door, and lifted her into his arms as he backed her up to the bed. They fell on to the bed a tangle of limbs as they kissed and undressed each other, “You’re certainly up to the challenge,” She hummed as he pressed against her, trailing kisses up and down her neck from her jaw to her clavicle.

“You know I can’t turn one down,” He smiled against her skin as he reached over and turned out the lamp. Those were the last coherent words spoken in for the rest of the night. The only other sounds resembling speech were in reverently whispered and passionate tones.


	12. Chapter 12

It seemed as if they had only just fallen asleep when the alarm on Sarah’s phone went off informing them it was time to get up to go to the airport for their flight back to California. It still took them another 15 minutes to finally get out of bed as neither were really wanting to move at such an early hour. They chose to shower separately to avoid any extracurricular temptations which would delay them any further and still managed to leave the apartment on time.

“Why did we have to take such and early flight again?” Sarah groaned, her head resting on his shoulder where they sat in the boarding area of their flight.

“There are only two non-stops between here and LAX, this one and another in the evening, but the one at night would have us arriving after 9pm, which means with the traffic at the airport and in L.A. in general, we probably wouldn’t make it to Awesome and Ellie’s until nearly 11 if not midnight. This way, we get there around 9:30 am and take a nap so we aren’t dealing with jetlag on Thanksgiving.”

“Whose bright idea was that?” She groused.

“I believe that was yours, Jen,” Chuck teased.

“Shut up,” She lightly smacked his arm and laid her head down again.

“Don’t fall asleep until we are on the plane,” Chuck reminded her, “We should be boarding in about 20 minutes or so. Would you like some coffee?”

“As tempting as that is, I think I’ll say no.” Sarah shook her head, “I want to fall asleep on the flight. Thanks for the offer, though, Charlie.”

“You’re welcome,” He nodded and relaxed back on his seat to wait for their section to be boarded. Thankfully the crew had no rest issues the night before, so their flight was able to board and depart on time. Within 20 minutes, the door was opened, and boarding numbers were being called. 10 minutes later, they were permitted to board and quickly found their seats. The CIA was paying for their flights between L.A. and D.C. since their team was officially based in L.A. it was on the company to pay for their travel to get to and from out-of-base training. Of course, just like any work travel, it was rare to be able to fly first class unless the mission required it, and they were given standard coach seats. As soon as they received their travel information, Chuck had shelled out the extra money to get bulkhead seats for the both of them. His height made the quickly diminishing leg room on airlines problematic for his long legs, and since Sarah was taller than most women, he figured she might feel the same way as well.

They quickly boarded and put their bags in the overhead bin above their seats. According to their tickets Chuck was supposed to be in the aisle seat and Sarah in the middle, however, when they arrived, they found girl who looked to be about 11 or 12, in Chuck’s assigned seat. She had dirty blond hair that had been swept up in a ponytail and hazel eyes and wore a lanyard denoting her as an unaccompanied minor. The flight attendant must have noticed the unsure looks on Chuck and Sarah’s faces and came back to speak with them.

“You must be Mr. Carmichael,” She smiled at him.

“That’s me,” He nodded and gestured to where the girl sat, “And according to my ticket, that is supposed to be where I’m sitting. I’m assuming this young lady is seated here for a reason, so I just need to know where you need me to sit now.”

“We appreciate your understanding,” The flight attendant whose name tag read ‘Maria’ smiled at him, “We have to sit children who are traveling without parents in the aisle seats so that the flight crew can have easy access to them in case of an emergency. Would the window seat work for you? Your wife will need to take the middle seat.”

Chuck turned and gave the seat in question a once over, “I think we can make this work.”

“Great, thank you for being flexible,” The woman was about to turn and leave when Sarah stopped her, “Was there something else I can help you with?”

“Nothing, this is more informational,” Sarah smiled kindly at the flight attendant as Chuck handed his folio wallet to her so she could present both. Opening the folios enough for the flight attendants to see their credentials. Chuck’s folio was, of course, stiff from disuse since he’d only just received them a couple days prior. “We’re LEOs, I have a pistol and throwing knives on my person.” She informed the flight attendant in a quiet voice.

The flight attendant nodded her understanding and let Sarah know that the Captain and First officer were both FFDOs, and that she would inform the other two flight attendants on board about their LEO status, as was protocol. Sarah thanked her and handed Chuck’s folio back to him as they took their seats, a moment later they heard a ding from the PA and saw the flight attendant they’d just spoken to shake the receiver of her phone at the flight attendant in the back who quickly picked up, nodded his understanding, and hung up again.

The boarding process was completed a few minutes later, the flight attendants were given the order to secure the cabin, and they were able to push back from the gate earlier than scheduled, although there would still be a line for take-off, since the DC-Dulles was a hub for a major airline, just not the one they were traveling on. As they taxied along in the departure lineup, the flight attendants went through their safety briefing and did their seatbelt checks.

“Why don’t you wear rings if you’re married?” Sarah heard the young girl ask.

“We’re not married,” She shook her head, “At least not yet. We’re just dating.”

“Oh,” The girl nodded and held out her hand, “I’m Jenny.”

Sarah hesitated a moment and Chuck tried his best to hide his reaction to the irony of the situation. “It’s nice to meet you Jenny, I’m Sarah, and this is Chuck.” She shook the girl’s hand, “Are you going to visit family for Thanksgiving?”

“Yep, my mom works in DC, and my dad lives in L.A.” Jenny nodded, “I live with Mom most of the year and then on holidays and the first month of summer break, I stay with my dad, stepmom, and their family. My step-mom just had a new baby a month ago and I’m super excited to meet my new little brother.”

“That’s really cool,” Chuck added in, “I don’t have any younger siblings, I have an older sister, that’s who we are going back to visit.”

“Cool,” Jenny nodded as they heard the captain come over the PA and announce that they were next in line for take-off and the flight attendants needed to take their seats. A moment later they were all pressed back into their seats as the plane gained speed and launched into the air. Once they’d gotten into the air Jenny turned to Sarah, “You said you were visiting Chuck’s sister in L.A. do you live in D.C.?”

“No,” Sarah shook her head, “We live in Burbank, but we’ve been in D.C. for work stuff.”

“’Work stuff?’” Jenny repeated, “You know my mom says there are four types of people in DC, Politicians, Historians, Academics, and ‘The alphabet people.’”

Chuck couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips, “And when you say, ‘alphabet people,’ you mean?”

“People who work for the CIA, NSA, FBI, DEA, you know, the ones who have longer names but only use letters to identify themselves,” Jenny gave them both an apprising look before dropping her voice and leaning in so that only the three of them could hear, “I know you are LEOs, I saw you show your badges and ID to the flight attendant. Sarah, I’d buy as a spook, but Chuck, I’m not sure what you are.”

Chuck and Sarah shared a look, not knowing what to say to the girl. “I know you can’t tell me, I only know about it because my Mom dated a guy who was part of the Navy JAG Corps. Jason was cool, but there was this guy everyone kept calling a spook who was always showing up, annoying the lawyers who worked there. I finally asked Jason, that was my mom’s boyfriend’s name, Lieutenant Jason Tiner, what ‘Spook’ meant, and he told me that it was another way of saying CIA or spy.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, she knew exactly which agent the girl was talking about, despite Director Graham’s best efforts, Agent Webb always seemed to get himself mixed up in JAG investigations. She also had met some of the JAG Lawyers Jenny had referenced and had even been asked out by the younger brother of one of the Lawyers, but it wasn’t a good fit, no matter how nice Mike had been.

Chuck knew that they needed to change the subject away from their work, “So, Jenny, what grade are you in?”

“I just started 7th Grade,” Jenny smiled, “It’s really different from elementary school, took me a while last year to adjust, but I like having my classes in different rooms.”

“Do you have a favorite class?” Sarah inquired.

“It’s still pretty early, but orchestra is pretty cool, I play the violin. I don’t know what they’ll have me do in the spring when we do parades.” Jenny shrugged.

“They’ll probably have you play percussion or something,” Sarah smiled, “I think they had me hold cymbals for the drummers a few times, and I got to play the xylophone when I got to high school and we had to do field show competition, you know when the band marches on the field at football games?”

“You played violin?” Jenny’s eyes widened.

“No, she plays violin, and I play flute and guitar,” Chuck corrected, “That’s kinda how we met. Her school was hosting a competition and my band came to it. We met in between sets and got to know each other pretty well.”

“So, you’re high school sweethearts?” Jenny grinned.

“I guess you could put it that way,” Chuck shrugged, “We hung out a bit over the weekend that the competition was, but we lived several hours away from each other. We tried to stay in contact, but she had to move, and I went to college, and we lost touch. We met up again a few months ago when Sarah came out to L.A. to work on a project with me, it didn’t occur to me that she was the same girl I’d met in high school until she walked in.” Chuck had a dreamy look on his face which caused Sarah to grin.

“I didn’t know it was him until I saw him again either,” Sarah smiled, “I knew him as Charlie, but never learned his last name. So, it really didn’t click that Chuck was Charlie until I saw him, but those curls and those eyes are unmistakable. We started dating not too long after.”

“That is so cool,” Jenny beamed at the older couple. “Are you gonna get married some day?”

“Maybe,” Chuck shrugged, “I mean, if she’ll have me, I wouldn’t wish to presume anything.”

“I wouldn’t be completely opposed to it,” Sarah added, “When the time is right and we’re both ready and able to.”

Jenny rolled her eyes, “Why do grownups have to make everything so complicated. I just met you and I can see you are head over heels, forever kind of in love with each other. You look at each other the way my dad and stepmom look at each other. Which is a good thing, trust me. I love my mom and dad and I’m glad they got married and had me, but they weren’t good for each other.”

“I know what that’s like,” Sarah nodded, “My parents split when I was seven or eight, it was hard feeling like I was stuck in the middle of them. My mom eventually met someone new and got married. I was in college by then, so I’ve only met him a few times, but Bill is pretty cool. He was a fireman, actually he was a captain for a long time, but after a really bad fire, the doctors said he wasn’t allowed to fight fires anymore. The department offered him another position so now he does fire safety checks, investigates the aftermath of fires, that kind of thing.”

Chuck snorted, earning him a slightly perturbed look from his girlfriend, “Are you telling me you mom is married to Fire Marshal Bill?”

“I dare you to make that joke in front of him,” Sarah arched an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, I will,” Chuck gave her a cocky look, to which Sarah rolled her eyes before turning back to Jenny.

“Are there any other classes you like?” She hoped to get Chuck’s mind diverted away from her stepdad’s unfortunate name and job title combo.

“Yeah,” Jenny nodded, “My school is one of the sister schools with Model, the Deaf school that is next to Gallaudet University. So, we have the option of taking American Sign Language as an elective. I really like it, especially when we go on joint field trips with the Model students in our grade, we usually get partnered up in the same group of kids my group is usually me, Kelsey, who goes to my school, and Dinah and Josephine who go to Model. Did you know that Gallaudet has a Deaf History Museum on their campus? It is so cool! We just went last week Dinah and Josephine knew a lot more than what was shown in the museum. They have shared with Kelsey and me what it’s like for them being Deaf. Dinah is the only Deaf person in her family, she got sick when she was like two and lost her hearing. Josephine is what they call Deaf Royalty, her mom and dad are Deaf, so are her grandparents, and great grandparents. Only one of her brothers and a cousin are hearing, her whole family signs, so she didn’t even know her brother and cousin were different until they went to a different school than she, her sister, and their cousins did.”

“I think that’s really neat,” Chuck nodded, “I always wanted to learn another language, I know a little Spanish, which I picked up from my best friend’s mom. Funny thing is, I speak more Spanish than he does,” His admission made Sarah and Jenny laugh, “Sarah, on the other hand, is a polyglot.”

“A poly-what?” Jenny furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Polyglot,” Sarah repeated the word, “It means I speak several languages. I was an international relations major in college and over the years both in school and outside of it have learned to speak a lot of different languages.”

“Cool, what languages do you speak?” Jenny was clearly in awe of the woman beside her.

“Oh, well let’s see,” Sarah mused, “English, of course, it was my first language, my mom is Polish, my grandparents had immigrated from Warsaw after the war, she was the first one of their family born here, they spoke English, but it was easier for me to learn Polish to speak with them than for them to remember the English words, especially after my grandma got dementia. I took a little Spanish and French in high school and then in college. Italian, Hungarian, Thai, Tagalog, Cantonese, and a little Japanese. Never learned ASL, though, maybe I’ll tackle that next.”

“Wow!” Jenny looked at the older woman, amazement clear on her face.

“Yeah, Sarah’s something else,” Chuck beamed proudly.

Their conversation was interrupted by the flight attendants starting their drink service. The three of them spent the rest of the flight discussing anything from movies, to music, and sports as both Chuck and Jenny were avid baseball fans. Eventually, the conversation lulled, and they all eventually drifted off to sleep. Chuck leaned up against the wall of the fuselage, his arm around Sarah’s shoulders as he dozed. Sarah had lifted the arm rests between her seat and the seats on either side of her. Her head rested on Chuck’s upper chest and Jenny had drifted off, her head against Sarah’s shoulder before she shifted until her head lay on the older woman’s lap and her legs were draped over the arm rest and into the aisle.

As the plane began to make its descent into LAX, the flight attendant came over and quietly woke them, reminding Jenny while she was there that the girl was to wait until she came to escort her to the boarding area where her pick-up should be awaiting her arrival. Jenny nodded and teased the flight attendant that she knew the drill as she sat up, straightened her clothes, and tightened her seatbelt as Sarah lowered the armrests and made sure their seats were no longer reclined.

Before they knew it, they were on the ground and taxiing to the gate. Once the plane had parked, and they were waiting for the door to be opened to let them disembark, Chuck quickly pulled down his messenger bag, Sarah’s purse and laptop case, and Jenny’s backpack that had been stored in the bin directly over their head.

“It was very nice to meet you, Jenny,” Sarah smiled down at the girl. “I hope you enjoy Thanksgiving with your family.”

“It was nice to meet you, too, both of you,” Jenny grinned at the older couple, “Maybe I’ll see you around some day. Sarah could teach me Polish.”

“Maybe, see how far you can go with ASL first.” Sarah chuckled as they heard the door opening and the bell of the jet bridge making its final approach toward the aircraft.

“Thank you for what you did with Jenny,” The flight attendant, Maria smiled at the couple, “I’ve had her a few times over the years, I think this is the first time any passengers have bothered to talk to her, let alone have several conversations and even let her relax enough to fall asleep against them.”

“She’s a good kid,” Chuck smiled, as they waited for the passengers in front of them to disembark from the aircraft.

“She is,” Maria nodded her agreement, “I’m glad someone finally noticed. I hope you enjoy your stay in L.A. or wherever you wind up.”

“We will,” Sarah nodded, taking Chuck’s hand in hers, “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Maria smiled and watched as Chuck and Sarah made their way up the jet bridge to the terminal.

It took a while to make it to baggage claim due to the shear size of the terminal, but once they had their bags, they were going to head to the rental office when a voice rang out over the din. “Chuck! Sarah!”

Turning they saw an exuberant Ellie running toward them, Devon not far behind. When she reached them, she wrapped them both in a big hug, squeezing so hard they thought their eyes might pop out if Devon hadn’t interceded and reminded his girlfriend that the younger couple needed to be able to get oxygen in order to breathe.

“I am so glad you are home!” Ellie practically squealed.

“Just for a few days, then it’s back to training,” Chuck reminded her, “We won’t be officially back until nearly Christmas.”

“I don’t care, I’m just happy you’re home,” Ellie wiped a tear from her cheek, “I missed you little brother, and you too, Sarah.”

“We missed you too, Ellie,” Sarah assured her.

“We probably should get going, and get out of everyone’s way,” Devon reminded the group.

“Good idea,” Chuck nodded. Ellie and Devon led the way to the parking structure closest to the terminal as Chuck and Sarah followed close behind, their baggage rolling along behind them. “So, is there anything new I should know about?”

“Morgan is bringing someone to dinner, a girl” Ellie sounded just as relieved as she sounded bewildered by the prospect of Morgan actually being in a somewhat stable relationship, at least stable enough that he was brining her to meet his other, non-biological, family.

“Really who?” Chuck was surprised but thrilled his little buddy had met someone.

“I think he said her name is Alex,” Ellie shrugged, “I can only hope she’s a real girl and we won’t be having to spend all day pretending he’s actually feeding something made of latex and rubber.”

“Alex is very real,” Chuck assured her, “Assuming it’s the same Alex who I met the day quit the BuyMore.”

“She very well might be,” Ellie shrugged as Devon unlocked the doors of their CR-V.

“From what the little man has said, she’s a good match for him, she loves some of the same nerdy stuff he does, but also is grounded enough to keep him grounded as well, which is awesome.” Devon piped in. “Oh, before I forget, your buddy, John is still planning to come for dinner, right?”

“Last we heard, that is still the plan,” Chuck nodded, “It sounds like this will be a Thanksgiving we will never forget. I can’t wait!”

* * *

I know I don’t usually include Author’s notes, as I personally find them annoying, but I used some jargon that some of you might not have heard before unless you were in a position to have heard them. So here they are in case you didn’t already google them.

LAX – Airport Code for the Los Angeles International Airport

Unaccompanied minor – Pretty self-explanatory, a child, generally between the ages of 5 and 15 who is traveling without a parent (younger than the minimum age must travel with a parent or guardian, 16 and older can travel unaccompanied). I don’t know about other airlines, but the one I flew for would not allow an adult male to be seated next to a girl, but an adult woman could be seated next to a UM of either gender.

LEO- Law Enforcement Officer, may or may not be armed. If they identify themselves though, they usually are and are either on, going to, or coming from official business.

FFDO – Federal Flight Deck Officers, basically LEOs with a corporate pilot’s license. (aka, armed pilot most in my experience are former military, and all had to undergo a strict training and vetting process to become FFDOs. Had one on about a quarter or a third of my flights, to have two was pretty rare.)


	13. Chapter 13

Thanksgiving Day at the Bartowski/Woodcomb residence turned the two-bedroom condo into a hive of manic activity. Ellie was up early to get the turkey prepped and into the oven, while Devon, Sarah, and Chuck, taking advantage of the fact nothing more needed to be done food prep wise for several hours, went for a short 3 mile run on a local jogging path. To say Devon was impressed by how much Chuck had improved his fitness would be an understatement. The word ‘awesome’ was used quite a bit during their outing. After returning and rotating through the bathroom for showers, they all were dressed and awaiting further orders from Ellie who had taken command of the day’s set up and execution.

“Oh good, you’re back,” She smiled as she saw the three of them returning to the living room. “I’m going to need all of you to help me prep food for dinner as well as decorate the condo. Devon, Sweetie, I need you to go to the storage unit and pull out our Thanksgiving stuff. The tablecloth, runner, napkins, and other decorations should be in one bin, the dishes, drinkware, and serving dishes should be in another, and the silverware should be in its own smaller bin. They should be stacked together, except the silverware, that might still be with the Christmas stuff.”

“I got it, Babe,” Devon nodded and kissed her cheek before going to grab his keys so he could drive over to the storage unit they rented.

“Thank you,” She smiled at him, “Now Chuck and Sarah, I am needing a few more things from the store. As I was going through what all I had on hand, I realized I forgot to get some ingredients and we should probably get more wine too.”

“No problem, Elle,” Chuck smiled at his sister, used to being assigned the last-minute store runs while she started prep work for the side dishes she would be serving. “Just let me know what all you need, and I’ll make a list and go.”

“Thanks,” A relieved smile crossed her face.

“Is there anything I can do while you are putting the list together?” Sarah offered.

“Convince my brother to get a haircut?” Ellie suggested, her voice making it clear it wasn’t exactly a joke. “It’s starting to make funny animal shapes.”

“I actually like his curls,” Sarah reached up and ran her hands through her boyfriend’s hair, practically making him purr at the contact, “Although, I think you’re right about his growing menagerie. A trim couldn’t hurt, Sweetheart.”

“If, and only if, there is a barber shop that is open near the grocery store,” Chuck stipulated.

“Fine,” Ellie rolled her eyes as she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from her junk drawer. “I know for sure we need marshmallows or else Morgan is going to pitch a fit,” She huffed, writing the item down along with a list of other items they would need for the day. “Get a couple bottles of both Zin and Pinot, some sparkling cider and champagne, too. Oh, and orange juice too… make sure the champagne is spumante, I think some mimosas would be nice. Get some pastries too, croissants, danishes, or scones would be nice.”

Chuck shared a look with his girlfriend, both trying not to laugh as the list grew longer as the list writer began to spiral. “Elle, how long is this list gonna be?”

“Shut up, it’s already done” Ellie huffed, tearing the paper off the notepad, and just as she was going to hand him the list she snatched it back, “Okay, I lied, please make sure to get some ice cream and whipped cream as well for the pies… that should be it.”

“Thanks,” Chuck took the list from his sister, “I have my cell if you need to get a hold of me while we’re gone.”

“Make sure you…” Ellie called after him as he grabbed the keys to the rental car they’d picked up after their nap the previous day.

“Go to BevMo! for the wine,” Chuck rolled his eyes, “I know, Elle. We’ve been through this routine several times since I turned 21, I know to get the wine from there.”

“Good,” Ellie practically shoved them out the door, “Hurry up and get back, we have a lot to do before our guests arrive this afternoon.”

“Oh my God,” Sarah laughed as soon as the door closed behind them, “Is she always like this?”

“Usually it’s not too bad, but Thanksgiving tends to ramp the insanity up to 11.” Chuck shrugged as they got into the car and set off toward the store to find the items on Ellie’s list, “Christmas for us is usually pretty casual. We will bake cookies for about a week or so before Christmas, but on the actual day, we don’t do anything terribly fancy. We used to order pizza, now she makes up the dough beforehand and we make our own personal pizzas to eat while we sit around watching a Twilight Zone marathon. In the past it’s been the two of us, Devon, and then once Morgan was done celebrating with his family, he would join us. Depending on how many tamales his abuela, mom, and tias made, he usually will bring over at least two Tupperware containers filled with red and green tamales. It’s a little weird compared to the usual American Christmas Tableau, but it’s our weird little tradition.”

“I’ve never really done Christmas,” Sarah shrugged, “Dad pulled a Salvation Army scam every year. He’d rent a Santa suit and stand on a corner and ring a bell while I held a red bucket. Once I realized what he was doing, which honestly didn’t take me long, I started skimming as much of the money as I could and found a way to get it to the real Salvation Army.”

Chuck couldn’t help but smile at that, “See, that’s my Jenny, always trying to help.”

“For whatever good it did,” She shrugged, “I think it’s kind of cool you and Ellie bounce from super traditional Thanksgiving to your quirky little Christmas celebration. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had tamales.”

“Oh, you are so missing out,” Chuck grinned at her as he pulled into the local Ralph’s parking lot, “Just wait until we come back again for Christmas. Mrs. Grimes and Se **ñ** ora Rodrigues-Garcia make _the best_ tamales. Seriously, we will eat nothing but tamales, menudo, and bunuelos for days, if not weeks after Christmas!”

“They really make that much?” Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You should see how much they make for just their family, it’s insane!” Chuck shook his head. They got out of the car and started towards the doors of the store and grabbed a cart. “I remember going over to Morgan’s house as a kid before my mom left us. His mom, abuela, and tias literally would make and steam tamales for _days_! Once Mom left, and especially after Dad split, they made sure every Christmas we were well stocked with ‘good food for growing **niños**.’ Which usually translated to a third of the food being ready to reheat and eat, and the rest frozen to be stored. Ellie and I have always been pretty thin, I think they were concerned with us being able to eat while school wasn’t in session. Mrs. Grimes had found out by accident that I was on a free and reduced lunch plan and the food kinda kicked into overdrive after that. This also meant that we were invited over a lot during the summer for cookouts and just dinner in general.”

“I’m glad you had someone who looked out for you like that.” Sarah smiled as they began to fill the cart with the items on Ellie’s list.

“Me too,” Chuck nodded, “Oh, we should probably grab some more aluminum foil, just in case. I think that it kind of embarrassed Ellie, though. For Mrs. Grimes and Se **ñ** ora Rodriguez-Garcia to feed us so much, especially since we knew Mrs. Grimes didn’t make a lot of money after her husband passed away. I mean, Morgan was on the free and reduced lunch program in school too. There were times she could barely pay her bills. As much as I earned busking to help cover bills and groceries, I quite often would slip Morgan a bit to help his mom cover her expenses too.”

“You’re a good man, Charlie,” Sarah kissed his cheek, her eyes misting a little, “Don’t let anyone tell you different.”

Chuck dropped his head and blushed a moment before murmuring a quiet ‘thank you.’ They shopped in silence for a little bit until they reached the bakery. Sarah’s eyes lit up and she turned to Chuck.

“Hey, what kind of pies does Ellie usually make?” She inquired.

“Um, the usual ones, I guess,” Chuck shrugged, “Pecan is her favorite, so she always makes that, of course, a couple pumpkin pies, and at least one apple pie are there.”

“I know the oven is going to be super busy,” She gave him a small smile, “So I can’t make a chocolate souffle like I really want to, but do you think she would mind if I brought a cherry pie? It’s one of my favorites.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Chuck grinned as he nodded, “She loves cherry pie almost as much as she loves pecan, but Devon and I don’t really eat it as much as we will pumpkin or apple.”

“It’s settled then,” She smiled, practically skipping over to the display where boxes of pre-made pies were stacked waiting for customers to purchase them and take them home.

“You know you can put it in the cart,” Chuck snickered when he realized that she was still carrying the box of pie in her hands a few aisles later.

“I know,” She shrugged, “But it’s my contribution and I don’t want it to get mixed up with the other stuff and wind up having you accidentally pay for it.”

“Whatever floats your boat, Jen.” Chuck shook his head good naturedly, “I think that just about does it, we just have to swing through the frozen section to pick up the whipped cream and ice cream before heading over a few blocks to BevMo!”

“Alright,” Sarah nodded as they turned down the frozen food aisle, quickly grabbing the last few items they needed before heading to the check stands. Chuck let her go through first as she only had the one item and it would take a couple minutes to unload his card onto the belt.

They were soon heading back to the car and loading their bags into the rear of the Highlander they had rented and took off toward BevMo! Luckily, the trip to the beverage emporium didn’t take nearly as long. The aisles were clearly marked so it made it easy to find the wines they were looking for, they even found the sparkling cider they’d forgotten to pick up at the grocery store. An hour and a half after they’d departed Ellie and Devon’s home, they returned and, with Devon’s help, quickly unloaded their purchases.

Once everything was put away, Ellie began to direct them in an efficient manner that even General Beckman would have been impressed by had she witnessed it. First things first was to divide and conquer. Chuck and Devon were assigned the task of clearing and dressing the table. This included finding and inserting the extensions to expand the table enough to fit all their guests before draping it with the tablecloth and runner. Next came the decorative plates that only came out for the holiday, along with the eating utensils, as well as the wine and water glasses for each place setting. Next were the candles and autumn leaf garland that would run down the center of the runner that already lined the middle of the table, long ways.

While the boys set about their task, Ellie and Sarah began to prep the side dishes and set them aside to be baked or cooked as the day progressed. The green bean and sweet potato casseroles were quickly assembled, covered in foil, and set in the fridge to await their time to be baked, their dry items that would be added later to top off and finish the casseroles were then set to the side of the counter so they could be easily found when the time came. Next they chopped up a variety of red, gold, and russet potatoes, which Ellie had them toss into a large stock pot and covered in salted water to begin boiling to make the mashed potatoes. Next came the fruit salad, a small portion of which was set to the side for them to eat with their breakfast and the rest was tossed with marshmallows and placed in the fridge as the guys were untangling the leaf garland and weaving it around the candles they’d already placed along the center of the table.

As they waited for the men to wrap up their last task for the moment, Ellie and Sarah portioned out the un-marshmallowed fruit salad and laid the various pastries on a serving tray before mixing up the mimosas in the champagne flutes that Ellie had pulled out of the cabinet. Soon the men were finished and the four of them migrated to the living room where the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was just about to get started. They clinked glasses as the streamers burst and the Macy’s stars, clowns, and cheerleaders kicked off the parade.

As always, they watched the feed that focused on the Macy’s stage where all the performance groups from Broadway, to the Rockettes and other dancers, to the various marching bands and musical performers stopped for their moment in the sun.

“Did you seriously get chocolate croissants?” Ellie exclaimed after biting into one of the flaky pastries.

“Yeah, they’re Sarah’s favorite,” Chuck smiled, sipping his mimosa, “So I figured it would be nice to get some to share with the family today.”

“These are so good,” Ellie hummed.

“I’m glad you like them,” Sarah grinned as she watched her boyfriend’s sister saver the sweet treat as she enjoyed one of her own.

At nearly every commercial break, one of them would get up to baste the bird, and then about a half an hour before the end of the parade, Ellie also turned on the stove to set the potatoes to boiling. As soon as Santa made his way down 34th street, the whole group set themselves to preparing for that afternoon’s meal once more. Breakfast dishes were quickly washed and set in the draining rack to dry, food was organized in the order it would need to go into the oven, all public areas were cleaned from top to bottom, until every countertop, floor, and porcelain surface shined. Around 1:30, they began rotating through the rooms getting changed into the clothing for the meal so that there was always at least one person in the kitchen watching the cooking food.

Ellie was the last to change of the group and so had just changed into a burgundy sweater dress when she heard the first round of guests knock on the door. She saw Chuck, wearing a nice forest green button-down dress shirt, black slacks, and much to her surprise, actual dress shoes made of a black leather as opposed to the chucks he usually wore, answer the door. Sarah was beside him in a navy shift dress and black heels as they greeted their guests.

Morgan looked remarkably well put together. It looked as if he had trimmed his beard and had even styled his hair a little bit rather than letting it hang down in the bowl cut he’d sported for years. He was wearing a blue and grey plaid dress shirt with a slate grey vest and slacks, and black dress shoes. On his arm was a petite woman with long dark hair. She wore a royal purple wrap dress and peep toe black heels that lifted her to be about an inch or so shorter than Morgan, she looked to be holding a bakery box in her hands as well. As Chuck and Sarah greeted the new couple, Ellie ducked into the kitchen to find Devon in a light blue dress shirt, striped tie, khakis, and dark brown shoes. Tied around his neck and waist was an apron that sported the words ‘boun appetite’ across the chest so as to not get any food on himself as he tended to the food cooking and baking around him.

“How’s that bird looking?” Ellie walked over to open the oven and peer at the turkey.

“Just about done, Babe, and it’s smelling awesome,” Devon grinned, “Give it another 15 or 20 minutes and we can pull that bad boy out and start baking the side dishes.”

“Alright,” Ellie nodded, “Morgan just got here with his plus one, we should probably go out there and meet her.”

“Give me just a moment,” Devon quickly undid the ties around his waist and looped the strap of the apron over to clear his head. He checked his reflection in the window to make sure his hair hadn’t been mussed too much by the donning or removal of his protective garment. He unrolled the sleeves he’d pushed back so as to not get anything on his cuffs while he stirred the various sauces that now set atop the stove. “Alright Babe, I’m good to go.”

The pair made their way into the living room where Chuck and Sarah stood chatting with Morgan and his date. She saw Chuck hand the new arrivals a glass of wine each before pouring glasses for himself and Sarah after checking which type she would like. Ellie pasted a genial smile on her face as she approached the man who had been a persistent, yet lovable, pain in her side for the past 20 years.

“Morgan, I’m glad you could make it,” She smiled at him as Devon reached out his hand to Morgan.

“Awesome you could make it, man,” Devon and Morgan shook hands, “Are you going to introduce us to your friend?”

“Of course,” Morgan grinned at the young woman beside him, “Ellie and Awesome, meet Alex, my girlfriend.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Alex smiled warmly, “All of you, I only met Chuck briefly the day I came into the store and met Morgan, so it’s nice to have a deeper conversation than a quick hello. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought some apple pie, I work in a diner to help pay my college tuition and it’s one of our most popular pies, as well as being one of my favorites.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Ellie smiled as she accepted the box from Alex and handed it to Devon to place on the pass through with the other pies. “Devon, Chuck, and Morgan are practically bottomless pits when it comes to pie, so the more pie, the better in my opinion.”

“Trust me, it is much appreciated,” Chuck agreed, “It’s made the normal way, right?”

Morgan gave his best friend an eye roll as Alex nodded a little bemused by the question, “Yeah normal way, apples, cinnamon, sugar, and a little nutmeg in a normal pastry crust, no big surprises.”

“Oh good,” Chuck sighed in faux relief, “Last time Morgan brought someone for Thanksgiving, she brought green bean casserole which she’d made with tartar sauce.”

They all shivered, including Morgan who had sacrificed and eaten over half of the oddly concocted casserole that to appease his ex, who had made it that fateful Thanksgiving two years before. “Yeah, it was about as appetizing as you might imagine,” Morgan shook his head.

A knock sounded on the door and Devon, who was just returning from checking on the turkey, went to answer. “Hey John, glad you could make it,” He gave the older man a jovial smile and shook his hand. “How was your flight?”

“It was fine,” Casey nodded, “Landed last night and was home with enough time to spare to make these,” He lifted the container of mini quiches that he’d made.

“These look delicious,” Devon smiled warmly, “Why don’t you come with me and you can put them in the kitchen while I get the bird out of the oven.”

“Lead the way,” Casey followed the young doctor, setting the quiches on a bare section of the counter, making sure to be out of the younger man’s way has he pulled the 20-pound turkey from the oven. He watched as Devon set the roasting pan on a couple of trivets and transfer the bird from the roasting pan onto a large serving tray. “If you show me were the flour is, I can get the gravy made up for you.”

“That would be awesome,” Devon grinned, “Thank you. There’s a pot on the stove if you want to use it, and the whisks are found in the drawer to the right of the stove. The flour is in the pantry and chicken stock is in the door of the fridge as well.”

“Don’t mention it.” Casey nodded, taking the hot pads Devon had used to handle the pan and moved it over to the stove where he carefully poured out the drippings into a bowl and strained out some of the fat into the indicated pan before turning on the burner. He pulled out the container holding the flour out and with one hand, he eyeballed what would be enough flour to create a good roux for the gravy as his other hand deftly stirred the pot with the efficient movements of a professional chef, or at least someone who’d performed his KP duties with as much honor as he could muster. Once he was satisfied with the base, he found the chicken stock and added it to the mix in the pot before adding in the drippings. Just as the mixture was starting to boil, the oven timer went off, indicating that the casseroles were ready for their final stage of preparation. He turned down the heat and quickly removed the casseroles, setting them on the counter just as Ellie entered to add the appropriate toppings to the dishes.

By the time Ellie had topped the sweet potatoes with marshmallows and the green beans with a layer of French onions and placed both dishes back under the broiler to finish, the gravy was ready to be strained into a large bowl with a pour spout. A small portion of the finished gravy was then poured into a white gravy boat to be placed on the table. Ellie thanked him for his help and sent him out to the living room as she called Chuck into the kitchen so she, Chuck, and Devon could start setting out dinner.

“Hey Casey,” Chuck shook his partner’s hand, “It’s good to see you.”

“Bartowski,” Casey nodded.

“Hey I gotta help set out the eats, but there’s wine, scotch, and whiskey on the sideboard over there if you want to help yourself,” Chuck gestured toward the narrow table where bottles of various shapes and sizes sat, some opened, most still waiting to be uncapped or uncorked.

Casey nodded his understanding and went to pour out a couple fingers of Jonnie Walker while he waited for the meal to begin. Walker was sitting on the corner of the couch, speaking to the moron that Chuck called a best friend who was perched on the arm of the chair, his companion had her back to him as she spoke animatedly about something or other with Walker.

Taking a sip of his drink, he figured he could at least be social and slowly made his way around to greet the three other guests to the meal. He saw Walker notice his approach, but everyone stopped when the younger woman spoke.

“Daddy?!”


	14. Chapter 14

“’Daddy?’” Morgan’s eyes widened as he looked between his girlfriend and his best friend’s neighbor, who was staring at him as if he were gum stuck to the bottom of his, surprisingly high-end wingtips.

“Daddy, I would like to meet my boyfriend Morgan. Morgan, this is my dad, John Casey,” Alex smiled reassuringly at her boyfriend who was clearly petrified, “Don’t worry, he’s not nearly as scary as he appears to be, he’s really just a big sugar bear.” She could tell he wasn’t completely convinced by her assurances, but she was proud that he stood up any way and extended his, admittedly shaking, hand.

“Casey,” Morgan gulped, “It’s good to see you again.” Sure, he’d worked briefly with the man a couple months ago, but Casey had quit not too long after Chuck did. Casey had been pretty intimidating to most of his coworkers, except maybe Chuck, during his brief tenure at the BuyMore, but he was proving to be many times more intimidating and imposing now that he was being presented as the father of Morgan’s girlfriend.

“Grimes,” Casey eyed the man up and down, “So you’re dating my daughter?”

“Well, I didn’t know she was _your_ daughter… er, sir,” Morgan did his best to stand his ground, “Not that it really matters… I mean, I would treat her the same even if she wasn’t your daughter… that is…”

“Morgan treats me well,” Alex decided she’d let her boyfriend suffer enough, “He’s never pressured me to do anything I’m uncomfortable with and is very supportive and understanding of the time I need to study to maintain my GPA in my criminology program. He actually encouraged me to take the LSATs and apply for law school when he found out that I was considering becoming a lawyer.” Casey arched an eyebrow, saying nothing, which Alex had learned over the year was his way of saying he was listening and considering what she was saying, “He even came by my dorm during mid-terms with enough coffee, energy drinks, and food for both me and my roommate to have fuel while we studied. He even took us out for a nice dinner after midterms were over in celebration because he knew that this is a difficult term for both of us.”

“He knows where your dorm is?” Casey crossed his arms, his voice growing harder with every work he spoke.

“Not like that Dad,” Alex rolled her eyes, “Not that it would be any of your business if it had been, but we haven’t… my point is that it would be none of your business if we were. We are both informed, responsible, consenting adults, and beyond that, it’s not any of your concern.”

Casey narrowed his eyes a moment and then nodded his understanding, “Fine, I’ll give the hobbit the benefit of the doubt.”

“That’s all I ask,” Alex rose up on her toes, pulling on her father’s crossed arms until he leaned down enough for her to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome, Princess,” Casey gave Morgan another look that made it clear he would be keeping an eye on the man but would not interfere unless he was given a reason to.

“Now that that’s resolved, come sit down, this bird isn’t going to eat itself,” Devon called them to the table. Once everyone was standing by their seats, Devon said a quick grace and began to carve and distribute turkey to everyone as the side dishes made their way around the table. “So, John, you never mentioned you had kids before.”

“Kid, just the one, and it didn’t seem relevant information to share last time I was here,” Casey shrugged. The unspoken message that it was none of the doctor’s business was clear to Chuck and Sarah, but either Devon didn’t notice or care.

“Why doesn’t Alex have your name then?” Devon pressed, “I mean clearly you have a relationship; it just seems odd that despite your presence in her life that she doesn’t have your last name.”

“It’s kind of a long story,” Casey hedged.

“Dad, if I may?” Alex rested her hand on her father’s forearm. When Casey nodded that it was okay, she continued, “I do technically have my dad’s name, just not his last name. I was named after him. When he was about my age, he was recruited to a special ops team which required him to be away quite a bit, like for years at a time, and was extremely dangerous. He and mom were engaged and had gotten pregnant with me prior to this. They decided for my safety that I would not be given his family name so that no one would target me to seek retribution against him for anything he would have to do.”

“Kathleen and I broke off our engagement,” Casey added.

“Despite mom’s protests,” Alex rolled her eyes as it had been an argument that had turned ridiculous over the past two and a half decades, “But they reached an agreement that Dad would come by every time he was on leave to visit me. As another measure to protect me and my mom, he was allowed to change his name from Alexander to Jonathan. I was named after him, so I do technically have his name, well the feminine version, Alexandria Joan, just not his actual family name.”

“How long were you assigned to special ops?” Ellie looked at Casey, “I mean clearly you have a good relationship with your daughter, which takes a while to form.”

“I retired from active duty when she was in junior high,” Casey shrugged, “But before that, I made sure every moment I could spare would be spent with her; quality over quantity. I’d write letters and call when I couldn’t be there, too. Most of the time I didn’t really know what I was doing, but despite my failings, of which there are many, she turned out good. I’m under no illusions about how much of that was because of Kathleen.”

“He’s being modest,” Alex shook her head, “After he retired, he made sure he was at every sparring match I had for karate, every debate, even helped me when I ran for student body president then took me out for pie when I lost. He was a good dad, still is.”

Chuck couldn’t be sure, but he could have sworn Casey blushed a little at the compliment from his daughter, but as he liked his life and the ability to continue living it, he chose to not say anything.

“Good to hear,” Ellie smiled as she scooped some more mashed potatoes onto her plate. “It’s hard to form a strong bond when a parent is not able to be in the home on a frequent basis. Is that why you were working at the BuyMore, to be closer to Alex?”

“It was certainly a factor when I moved here,” Casey shrugged, “I usually find work as a security consultant, but there was no work in that sector when I moved here, and the BuyMore is known for its flexibility with reservists and veterans. Not a lot of people knew, but Skip was an Airforce communications specialist, and Bunny was a naval machinist. I’m a reservist in the Marine Corps, and this is close enough to Pendleton for me to report to in a timely fashion if I’m called up to serve.”

“His experience with security is why I convinced him to work with me,” Chuck piped up, hoping to take the spotlight off of Casey as the man had already spoken more words in the past hour or so than Chuck had ever heard from him up until this point. “I figure I can handle the cybersecurity stuff, but since Casey has been in the security business for a while, he’s a good resource to help figure out what is needed out there.”

Sarah, seeing that Casey was wanting the spotlight off of himself, turned to Ellie, “Ellie, this turkey is to die for, what is your trick?”

“No trick really,” Ellie shrugged, “Maybe next year I can show you.”

“I’d like that,” Sarah smiled at her.

“Me too,” Ellie grinned back.

“Hey,” Devon got everyone’s attention by clinking his glass with his spoon, “We have a tradition of going around the table on Thanksgiving and saying what we are grateful for. I can start. I am grateful for my friends and family around this table, especially my wonderful girlfriend who made this amazing meal, with help from Sarah, of course. Ellie, I love you, and thank you for putting up with me.”

“I love you too,” She beamed at him as he took his seat and looked to her to indicate it was her turn. “I am thankful for Devon, for my job, for my amazing little brother, Chuck, who is finally getting out of his comfort zone, and for Sarah, you have no idea how much of a blessing you are in our lives. If it weren’t for you, Chuck would still be stuck at the BuyMore wasting his potential.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s true,” Sarah shook her head.

“It probably is,” Chuck shrugged then raised his glass, “I am thankful for Ellie, you are the best combination of mom, sister, and kick ass doctor. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made to give us the life we’ve been able to have. Devon, you are the big brother I always wanted, I am so lucky for the advice and guidance you’ve given me since you came into Ellie’s life, you are truly awesome. Morgan, buddy, you have been my brother, my confidant, my partner in crime since Kindergarten. I am thankful for you and am so glad you found someone who makes you happy and encourages you just as much as you encourage her. I love you, man. Sarah; words cannot express how grateful I am we found each other again. Ellie is right, if it hadn’t been for your encouraging and supporting my dreams, I never would have found the courage and motivation to actually quit the BuyMore and move on with my life. I hope one day to prove you right and live up to be the man you see in me, that I’m beginning to see in myself again. I love you so much… and I’m just beginning to realize how much of a proposal speech this is starting to sound like, so I’m just gonna shut up now.”

Sarah smiled and kissed his cheek, “Then I hope someone taped it for when the day comes you will actually need it. Chuck I am so thankful for you, and am likewise thrilled that we found each other again, despite the unlikelihood of it ever happening. You are an amazing man, in no small part thanks to your sister, who I am grateful to consider a good friend, and I can see you doing great things, whether with your start up or with anything really. The way you chose to form a family around you, is remarkable and I am so happy you count me in that number.”

“Awesome,” Devon grinned at her. She nodded her acknowledgement of his statement before turning to Casey. 

Casey looked uncomfortable then gave a small shrug deciding to not fight it, “I am thankful for Alex. I may not have been the best father in the world, but I’m proud of the woman she has become.”

“Thank you, Daddy. I love you too,” Alex lifted her glass to her father, “I guess it’s my turn now. I am thankful for my family, my new friends, and my amazing boyfriend.”

“Saving the best for last, huh?” Morgan joked, causing Alex to giggle slightly and Ellie to roll her eyes. “I am thankful for my wonderful, intelligent, beautiful, girlfriend. I am awed and humbled that you find me worthy of your affections. Chuck, you are the best friend and heterosexual life partner a guy could ask for…”

“You really need to stop using that phrase, it confuses people,” Chuck groused, good naturedly.

“You always have been and always will be my brother,” Morgan ignored his friend’s interruption, “Sarah, you found yourself a good guy, trust me, I know. Ellie, you were my first love, and I am grateful you have put up with having me around all these years, even when I get on your nerves. You are an amazing cook, and I hope to one day be half the chef you are. And Devon, well you’re just awesome.”

“Indeed,” The older man nodded, a wide grin on his face.

The rest of the dinner passed with congenial conversation around the table, it filled Chuck’s heart with warmth as he let himself relax into the familial feel of the holiday, but it seemed to be missing something. Looking to his left, he saw his girlfriend, who was laughing at something Alex had said, but the mirth didn’t quite reach her eyes. Later, as they were clearing the table, he pulled her into the hallway where they could speak quietly, “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” She gave him a sad smile, “I just with Mom and Molly could be here.”

“I know you do, Baby,” Chuck wrapped her up in his arms as she sighed into his chest, “But just like you said, right now it’s safer if they don’t have contact with you until after we deal with the Ryker situation.”

“I know,” Sarah relaxed into his embrace, “Our family just seems incomplete without them. Ellie and Awesome are amazing and warm. They’ve welcomed me into your little clan, unquestioningly, Morgan is like the annoying brother I never had, and Alex is lovely. Even Casey, oddly enough, fits into this mishmash of characters that make up our family.”

“I know what you mean, I feel the same way about my parents not being here.” Chuck kissed her cheek, “All we can do is keep moving forward and hope that one day, our family will well and truly be unified, and I have faith that it will. Whether that day is tomorrow, or 20 years from now, although I sincerely hope that we don’t have to wait that long, I have faith that it will happen.”

“You are an amazing man Charlie,” Sarah looked up at him, “You always know what I need to hear. How did I get so lucky?”

“Oh, believe me, Jenny, I’m the lucky one here,” He bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, eliciting a soft moan from her throat.

“And a great kisser,” She smiled at him, “We should probably get back in there before someone realizes that we’re missing.”

“Chuckster!” They heard Devon calling him.

“Too late,” He chuckled, resting his forehead against his girlfriend’s before turning and calling back, “Yeah, Dev?”

“I need your help with the table and the pies,” Devon called back.

“Be there in a sec, Awesome,” Chuck responded before turning back to Sarah, “Duty calls.”

“I’ll go help your sister with the dishes,” Sarah smiled, “I’m sure she’ll need it.”

The pair returned, hand-in-hand to the dining room to set about their tasks. Devon had turned on one of the football games which was playing as background noise as their ragtag family cleared and cleaned up after dinner and in preparation of dessert. Alex and Casey were at the sink, Casey powering through cleaning and rinsing every dish, pot, and pan used to make and eat their meal while Alex quickly dried and stacked the plates and silverware or set in the drying rack to let the cookware drip dry. Morgan and Ellie were emptying serving dishes, portioning out leftovers for Casey, Alex, and Morgan, before putting the rest in Ellie and Awesomes fridge to eat over the next few days.

Sarah and Chuck quickly joined in, Chuck helping Devon remove the extra leaves and redress the dining room table while Sarah made herself useful by cutting up the pies. Once the table was ready, the pies were brought out and set on the table along with the whipped cream which had been defrosting in the fridge since that morning and was now soft enough to be served out. They also brought out some smaller plates and forks. They didn’t really have a set ‘desert time’ at their Thanksgiving dinners, as they opted to grab dessert as they wanted it and enjoyed the football games and movies they watched.

After the foot ball games had been watched, they all settled in to enjoy their traditional end of Thanksgiving movies, the original ‘Miracle on 34th St,’ followed by ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ Ellie and Awesome curled up on the love seat, Casey took the armchair, while Chuck and Sarah, who had curled her feet up to the side, took the couch. Morgan and Alex had borrowed some throw pillows from the living room and sat with their backs against the couch near where Sarah’s feet now rested on the third cushion.

Around 10:30pm, everyone was tuckered out and ready for bed. After several rounds of ‘thank you’s and distributing leftovers, their guests were sent on their way. Chuck and Sarah bid Ellie and Awesome good night as each couple made their way to their respective bedrooms to sleep off the tryptophan from the turkey and good times they’d had with their family. Changing into their pajamas, each couple settled into bed and their lover’s arms as they drifted off into a satisfied sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

They were all exhausted after their weekend in Burbank. The day after Thanksgiving Sarah had been roped into participating in some Black Friday shopping with Ellie. She wasn’t a fan of the fact she’d been woken up at 2:00am, when she and Chuck hadn’t gotten to sleep until nearly 11:00pm, but it had been fun.

The girls had fun getting to know each other better, bonding, and of course shopping like it was going out of style. They had both been able to find items for their small family’s members and had even been able to get some things for each other before meeting back up again for lunch. Both of them had wound up crashing early that night out of pure exhaustion from the activities of the previous two days, much to the amusement of their respective boyfriends.

Since Chuck and Awesome had been awoken by their girlfriends’ early alarms, they decided to spend the day on a little male bonding. Starting with a run along the beach near the Santa Monica Pier and ending with some lightweight training and climbing the rock wall at Awesome’s gym. After showering and getting dressed, they had also taken advantage of the girls’ shopping trip to run a few errands themselves. A couple of their errands may or may not have included a trip to the bank to access their individual lock boxes and ending with a rather awkward talk over Thanksgiving leftovers and beer when they’d gotten home. Thankfully the timing had worked out perfectly as, within a half an hour of their lunch, their ladies had stumbled in, kissed their guys hello, and headed back to Ellie’s bedroom where they locked themselves in for about an hour or so. Of course, the guys knew that Ellie would store all the gifts in the storage closet off the back porch, and that from now until the Christmas Tree went up in another few weeks, no one was allowed to go into that closet except to put away wrapped presents. Since they were used to this unspoken rule, and they were both content to wait until Christmas to see what had been purchased, they didn’t much mind the restriction.

Morgan, as the newly minted assistant manager of the BuyMore, was required to work Black Friday and keep the BuyMorons in line. This left Alex’s day free and clear to spend time with her father. As per their tradition, they spent the first half of the day at the shooting range where Casey showed off some of his newest toys which Alex was encouraged to try out. Shooting had been a shared interest of theirs since the first day he had taken her, at the age of eight, to the range to try her first rifle, a Ruger 10/22 Compact, which he’d special ordered in purple; her favorite color at the time. Kathleen hadn’t been a big fan of it, but after sitting down as a family, they had come to the agreement that the rifle would stay in Casey’s possession at all times when not in use. He actually still had it in a storage unit back in D.C. and took it out every so often to maintain it. He hoped to one day teach his granddaughter how to shoot the same rifle her mother started with… assuming Alex ever had a daughter.

After the morning at the range, they met up with Kathleen and Mark, Kathleen’s husband who she had met when Alex was 3 years old, for lunch. He knew that Alex referred to the man as her bonus dad, and he was okay with it. Casey was happy that Kathleen was able to find someone who could be there for her like he was unable to. What was even better was that Mark was a weapons enthusiast, too. He occasionally accompanied them to the range. However, he tended to favor archery, and had shared his passion with Alex, which along with her martial arts training, all made their daughter well rounded in how to defend herself.

The fact his daughter was able to protect herself, put Casey’s mind somewhat at peace since he was unable to be around her, as often as he would like to, due to the nature of his job. He still remembered the day he had sat down with her after a day, just like they had spent the day after Thanksgiving, and told her about what he actually did. Alex had been 13 years old and listened calmly as he explained who he worked for and what he did. She had waited the short time it took for him to brief her before shrugging and saying, “I know.” She had figured it out a few years before, and while she hadn’t known what agency he worked for, although she had narrowed it down to a few, she had known he worked as an undercover operative or a spy. To this day, he was impressed at how easily she had put it all together from overhearing conversations, to his mannerisms, and how he had to go dark when on missions. Not to mention that the length of time he was ‘deployed,’ which was the reasoning they used to give her to explain his absences, never quite matched up with how long her military brat friends said their parents were away for. She must have gotten her intelligence from her mother since, Lord knows, Casey had never been that smart, it would have been scary if it wasn’t so damned impressive. She’d made a good spy if she put her mind to it, but he would worry about her every damn day if she were.

Saturday, all three of them had met up at Casey’s apartment as Beckman and Graham had found the perfect mission to test Chuck’s skills. It would require them to travel overseas to track down a rogue agent with ties to a known crime lord. The meeting at Casey’s had lasted the majority of the day, and a good portion of the day was spent creating a cover and arranging for the appropriate documents to be made and available to them when they arrived back in D.C. Thus, Charlie and Jenny Carmichael, a tech mogul looking to expand to Europe and his bride, and their personal security man, Jay Cobb were born. Chuck had even gone so far as to hack into public records to backstop their covers, which would free up the department responsible for creating legends to be able to focus on their documents, which was a time-consuming process to create legitimate looking identifying paperwork.

According to the legends that Chuck had created for them, Charlie and Jenny were high school sweethearts who had decided to see other people when Charlie left for MIT. Two years later, Jenny had been accepted to Harvard, and they found each other once more. They waited until Jenny was finished with college to get married, and a year, nearly to the day, later, they were wed in a private ceremony at Martha’s Vineyard. Jenny worked as a translator at the United Nations for a little more than a year when she gave it up to serve as Charlie’s personal interpreter when he announced his plans to expand his business, Carmichael Technologies, to Europe. Jay was a retired Marine MP who was incidentally the nephew of an old friend of Charlie’s father who was looking for work about the time Carmichael Technologies opened there doors and was looking for a chief of security. As the business expanded, a new chief of security was named and Jay was then transitioned into personal security for the Carmichaels, who were getting some pushbacks from competitors such as Roark Industries.

Both Casey and Sarah had told Chuck there was no need to go that in depth but were nonetheless impressed by the work he’d put into their backstories as well as how quickly he had been able to backstop it. They were used to having to wait weeks or months for their cover identities to be set and documentation to be issued, Chuck was able to backstop them in a matter of hours and they would have their documentation within 24 hours of arriving in D.C.

Sunday Ellie and Awesome had to be back at work. Thankfully, their shifts started late enough that they were able to say goodbye to Chuck and Sarah before the newer couple had to return their rental car and meet up with Casey at LAX for their flight back to D.C. Just as before, they were all booked standard coach seats which Chuck arranged to be upgraded to the extra leg room seats, on account of their heights as Casey was just a tad taller than Chuck’s 6’4” frame. Of course, since they weren’t supposed to know Casey, Chuck had arranged for him to have an exit row.

‘Arranged’ meaning that he hacked into the airline’s booking system and assigned their seats, post-dated the changes, and made them look like they were done by an agent on-site. Sarah had naturally caught him as he had overestimated how long it would take for her to shower. Luckily for him, she had simply rolled her eyes with a light chuckle and kissed his cheek before sliding into bed wearing nothing but one of his old Quantum Leap shirt, the one he had incidentally worn to ComicCon the fateful high school weekend upon which they met.

As soon as he was done, he’s dove into bed, gave Sarah the patented Bartowski eyebrow dance and whispered a reverent ‘Oh boy!’ before proceeding to devour her. He was reliving the memory when he felt her reach over and squeeze his hand.

“It’s time for us to board,” She nodded toward the gate. Knowing that they were in the first row and that several people liked to stash their bags in the first sets of overhead bins, even if they had seats in the back, they quickly grabbed their things and joined the line, hoping that there would still be space when they got on board. Luckily, the passengers that had boarded ahead of them appeared to have behaved as the bin directly over their seats were empty aside from some emergency equipment that was required to be stowed there. Chuck stashed their bags as Sarah took her seat in the middle as the flight was going to be full heading back to D.C.

They were both seated by the time Casey got on board. They pretended they didn’t see the eye roll or hear the semi-disgusted grunt that came from the NSA agent as he passed. When the flight attendant came by, Chuck caught her attention and quietly informed her that she had LEOs on her flight, “Just so you know, there’s another LEO on board in the exit row. Big guy, marine haircut, permanent scowl, and a jaw that looks as if it were chiseled by Michelangelo himself, answers to the name of Casey.”

“Yes, Mr. Casey spoke with our chief steward and myself when he boarded,” The flight attendant, whose name tag read ‘Shelly,’ nodded, “Am I to assume he is aware of your presence on this flight as well?”

“I should hope so, Shelly” Chuck gave her a small smile, causing the flight attendant to blush slightly under his attention, “His boss’ administrative assistant booked our flight.”

The flight attendant smiled warmly at him as she handed the credential wallets back to Chuck, “Have a good flight Mr. Carmichael.”

“Thanks,” Chuck nodded and took his seat.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” Sarah huffed good naturedly as Chuck fastened his seatbelt.

“Come again?” He looked up.

“Maybe later,” She gave him a wry look, causing him to blush slightly.

Chuck rolled his eyes, “I meant, could you please repeat the question.”

“I said that you just can’t help yourself,” She chuckled, “If I were inclined to such a petty emotion, I would be jealous of her.”

“Her who,” Chuck looked at his girlfriend then followed her line of sight to where the flight attendant he’d just spoken to stood, making no effort to hide the fact she and the chief steward were checking him out and gossiping between themselves, “You mean Shelly?”

“Oh, is that her name?” Sarah arched an eyebrow.

“Careful, now,” Chuck warned, “Someone might think you’re getting jealous.”

“How can I be jealous of someone who doesn’t stand a chance?” She smiled sweetly up at him, “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t turn down the charm just a smidge, like to a factor of 6 or 7.”

“How can I, when I didn’t even realize I was doing it?” He protested as they heard the bell of the jet bridge as it began to pull away from the door followed by the dull thunks of the door being closed and armed for departure.

“Oh, please,” She gave him a dubious look as they felt the jerk of the tractor pushing the aircraft back from the gate, “You know exactly what you do. It’s the same charming smile and slipping in an observation you do that gets girls all flustered… you did it to me in high school and again a few months ago when we met up again.”

“First of all, you are not a girl, you are most definitely a woman and I have empirical evidence to that fact.” He let his eyes roam up and down her body, not even bothering to be stealthy about it, “Secondly, it’s called being a good conversationalist. Part of which is being congenial and observant of the person you are communicating with.”

“Yeah, but then you throw in the bedroom eyes and every _woman_ in a ten-foot radius goes weak at the knees,” Sarah rolled her eyes.

“Is this you not being jealous, because you’re doing a pretty good impression of a jealous girlfriend right now,” Chuck tried hard not to smirk, “And you know you’re the only woman or girl I give the ‘ol bedroom eyes to.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, as we prepare for departure, please give the cabin crew your full attention as they show you the safety features of this Boing 737.” The announcement cut off Sarah’s rebuttal. Once the safety briefing was concluded and the flight attendant began checking all the passenger’s seatbelts, Chuck turned back to Sarah.

“I honestly didn’t realize it bothered you so much,” Chuck whispered into the top of her head as she had already wrapped her arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’ll try to not…”

“Flirt,” Sarah provided.

“… be overly friendly toward those of the straight female persuasion,” Chuck amended. “But you may still need to let me know when I go too far because I don’t always realize I’m doing it.”

“Deal,” Sarah smiled up at him and they sealed it with a soft kiss.

The flight attendant, Shelly interrupted their kiss with a soft clearing of her throat. “Mr. Carmichael, you need to fasten your seatbelt for departure. Do you need me to assist you?”

“I think I got this one,” Sarah gave the woman a pointed look as she reached over her boyfriend, pulling the other side of the lap belt from between his leg and arm rest and making a good show out of fastening the belt and pulling on the strap until it sat low and tight around his hips. She even went so far as to glide her hand over the belt to make sure it was fastened correctly as the flight attendant huffed and walked away.

“Was that really necessary?” Chuck snickered at her blatant display of staking her claim.

“Very,” Sarah purred into his ear as their plane taxied its way toward the runway, “I could have taken it a step farther if we had a blanket, but do we really want to reward her behavior with a show? Besides I’d much rather wait to join the mile-high club until we are on the jet to Prague, once Casey is asleep, of course. I hear the bathroom on the CIA jet is much more… comfortable.”

Chuck swallowed thickly and let out a small whimper as she lightly grazed the fingers of her left hand up the inside of his left thigh. “Tha-that’s just not fair.”

“All’s fair in love and war baby,” She gave him a wicked smile, “And to the victor go the spoils, and I do plan to be _very_ victorious.”

The rumble of the engines spooling up didn’t do either of them favors as Sarah’s display had already gotten them heated, enough that Chuck had to cross his legs to hide the effect her words had on him, not that it fooled anyone who had heard even a moment of the conversation they’d just had. After they took off, Sarah thankfully relented and lifted the arm rest between them so she could relax into his side for the light flight back to D.C.

It was early evening by the time they had landed, and the team members split off, Casey to his quarters at the BOQ, and Chuck and Sarah to Sarah’s apartment to wash and repack clothes for their upcoming trip. As Sarah loaded the washing machine, Chuck checked, and double checked, their electronics from their phones to their computers and iPods to make sure that everything was in full working order and plugged in to charge. He also made quick work of making sure both their bags had back up charging cables, voltage adapters, and converters that could be used by most plugs found overseas and step down the voltage so as to not fry their equipment during their travels.

Once the clothes were washed and dried, they made quick work of repacking, making sure to include enough business attire, namely a couple new suits and dress shirts for Chuck, and some dresses, skirts, blouses, and blazers for Sarah to wear when embodying their covers. They also included some casual and dark ‘spy’ clothes for when they found themselves in a position where they could dress down or needed to conduct themselves with a little stealth.

“What time are we supposed to meet with Beckman and Graham in the morning?” Chuck asked as they set their bags by the door.

“0800, sharp,” Sarah reminded him, “We will be meeting them at Ft. Mead which can take upwards of an hour and a half to get to. So, we should aim at leaving around 6:30.”

“Which means up at 5:00 or 5:30 at the latest to get ready.” Chuck checked his watch, “We probably should hit the sack soon then.”

Sarah got a wicked smile on her face, “Good idea, I still owe you a safety de-briefing from the plane ride.” She took hold of his hand and dragged him back toward the bedroom.

“Who’s yo mama?!” He chuckled as he was willingly dragged back to the bedroom for the long-awaited mutual debriefing.


	16. Chapter 16

Monday morning, Sarah and Chuck woke early to travel up to Fort Mead where they would meet the rest of their team. Once they’d cleared security, a process extended due to the multiple knives and other weapons that Sarah wore on her body at any given time, they were met by John Casey, who was wearing his service Alpha uniform.

“Looking sharp, Casey,” Chuck extended his hand to the major.

“You actually look presentable, for once, Carmichael,” Casey used Chuck’s agency cover as he took in the younger man’s appearance and shook his hand. Chuck had a black trench coat folded over his left arm, partially obscuring the laptop briefcase he held in his left hand. He wore a dark charcoal three-piece suit with a pale blue dress shirt and a navy graphic patterned tie. “Lemmie guess, Walker turned you into her personal Ken doll this morning?”

Chuck gave a mocking laugh, “No, if you must know, Awesome took me suit shopping while the girls were off throwing elbows at housewives trying to beat them to the low, low deals at the BuyMore on Black Friday.”

“I think it makes him look like a spy,” Sarah smiled up at Chuck and gave his right wrist a subtle reassuring squeeze, as he had shifted his briefcase back to his right hand after shaking hands with Casey.

“And you are looking quite lovely today,” Chuck added, not wanting Sarah to be left out, which caused Casey to give the #29 grunt, disgust mixed with annoyance. In actuality, Chuck had already complimented Sarah on her appearance in more than a few ways that morning. It started with his jaw just about hitting the floor when Sarah had emerged from the bathroom that morning wearing a black suit with a knee length trumpeted skirt and lilac blouse with a pair of black stilettos. She’d pulled her hair half up, and had applied a light dusting of makeup, just enough to make her eyes pop. Once he recovered from the beauty shock he went through upon seeing her nearly every morning, they had gathered their coats and briefcases to head to Ft. Mead for their meeting.

“Thank you, Chuck,” She gave him a soft smile before turning back to Casey, “Shall we go in?”

“If that’ll get you two to shut up,” Casey growled, “I’m gonna get diabetes if I have to put up with your fluffy interactions much longer.”

“He actually really loves us,” Chuck snarked as they followed Casey into the briefing room.

The room itself was rather small, holding a rectangular conference table with seating for six; two on each of the long sides and one on each end. There was a triangular speaker phone in the middle of the table for conference calls, and a docking station with cables to connect laptops to the flat screen TV that hung on the short wall adjacent to the door. Casey took the end seat farthest from the TV screen and Chuck and Sarah took the seats on the long side of the table opposite the door so that when Beckman and Graham entered, they wouldn’t have to walk around the table to take their seats.

While they waited, Chuck unpacked his laptop and hooked it into one of the HDMI cables, in case he needed to display any of the research he and Sarah had done since receiving the basic parameters of their assignment just two days before. Sarah and Chuck were speaking quietly when the door to the room opened and Team Intersect rose to greet their superiors. Casey, naturally, saluted General Beckman, which she promptly returned before giving permission for the team to take their seats.

“Good morning, team,” Graham nodded to the trio as he took his seat at the head of the table, opposite Casey while Beckman took a seat across from Chuck and Sarah. “I trust your quals, training, and holiday all went well?” At the affirmative nods from the team, he continued, “As we informed you on Saturday, your mission is to track and potentially turn this man, Victor Federov. He is a Ukrainian national who has been seen recently in Hungary. He is rumored to be tied to several organized crime syndicates throughout Ukraine and Russia, as a low-level weapons supplier. You are to obtain information on just who he has been doing business with.

“Rumor has it, he will be attending a wedding in the city of Debrecen. Walker, I know you were in the area not too long ago. Casey, how is your Hungarian?” Graham turned to the major.

“Serviceable, not quite as strong as my Russian,” Casey shrugged, “I can get by.”

“Mr. Carmichael,” The General caught his attention as she pulled what looked to be a glasses case from her own attaché case. “We have an Intersect update for you that includes a few skills, namely language skills along with cultural information and a general intelligence update.”

Chuck reached out to the case, which was slid over to him, and opened them up to find a pair of what looked to be high-end sunglasses which looked to have connection ports at the end of each earpiece. “Do you want me to do it now or…?”

“Wait until you return to Walker’s residence.” Beckman advised, “If what you reported about your experience with the last upload, we’d prefer you to be somewhere that you are able to take a few hours to recover afterwards. Tomorrow, you are to report to the medical staff attached to this project at 08:00 to make sure the upload is successful and working properly. With any luck, it shouldn’t take Dr. Zarnow very long to evaluate you.”

Sarah noticed Chuck go stiff and his eyes roll back in his head, as did the others in the room. Beckman and Graham, who had not seen Chuck flash before looked on with concern while Casey and Sarah waited for his eyes to refocus.

“Uh, General,” Chuck cleared his throat, “That might not be the best idea. Did you know that Dr. Zarnow has connections with Fulcrum and has been selling intelligence and tech to the North Koreans for nearly a decade, now?”

“Oh, for the love of…” Beckman rolled her eyes, “I’ll deal with that once this briefing is finished. Until we can find a better solution, we would still like you to be examined by the neurologists in the med unit, just to make sure your brain is operating within acceptable limits once the update is complete. That at least will hold us over until we locate another of the original intersect team.”

Chuck’s eyes lit up momentarily, “General, I may have a solution to your issue, but only if it is acceptable to you.” When Beckman nodded, he continued, “My sister is one of the best neurologists on the west coast and does have a vested interest in my continuing health. Considering the rampant nepotism around here, what’s one more from my family?” He gave a small chuckle, “When I’m not on a mission, she and I could probably work to study and potentially improve on the Intersect technology to make it safer for upload into other agents. It would not only save me from having to continue lying to Ellie, which would honestly make this whole situation a lot less stressful. I’m sure she would be more than willing to be paid to play with my brain. In fact, she has voiced interest in doing just that since she already thinks I have some wires crossed. It’s not like she’s going to try to strip my amygdala, or something.” He rolled his eyes, “Not to mention, her boyfriend is a skilled surgeon and top-ranked cardiologist, so it might not hurt to read him in as well. Just in case something goes sideways, at least then we could have vetted medical staff nearby not only for agency personnel, but any VIPs visiting the area.”

“We will take your suggestion under advisement,” Graham nodded, “If we do decide to go with your suggestion, any additions to the team will be made _after_ you return from Europe.”

“Understood,” Chuck nodded.

“We have put together your travel documents and paperwork,” Graham slid a large black button envelope to Sarah, “All were based on the preliminary legends that Mr. Carmichael submitted on Saturday.” He turned to look directly at Chuck, “Were you able to find time to backstop the identities you will be traveling with?”

“I was able to do the majority of the back stopping on Saturday and a little yesterday morning before we caught our flight back,” Chuck informed them as he woke up his computer and activated the television on the wall. The next few minutes was spent with Chuck showing the depths he had gone to in order to backstop the team’s identities as well as answering any questions or concerns their leadership might have regarding what had already been done. He immediately incorporated the suggestions that had become part of their dossiers and made sure his planted backstops were updated to include the changes as well. Beckman and Graham were duly impressed at his abilities as even their most skilled analysts required a minimum of 24 hours to incorporate any needed backstop measures for agents.

“Mr. Carmichael, if you could please set up an email for my assistant in your tech firm cover’s server so that she can send the travel plans directly to your cover identity’s business email, I will have her send a copy of your travel arrangements to you there,” Graham informed them as he stood, “If you’ll excuse me, I have another meeting I need to get to.” He proceeded to shake the hands of Sarah and Chuck who were closest to his own seat. He also made sure to shake Casey’s hand just before opening the door and exiting.

Beckman waited for Graham to finish his departure before continuing. “Mr. Carmichael, if you could send me the information on your sister and her boyfriend so that we can properly vet them to be potentially read into the assignment, I can have one of my analyst teams start on their vetting process.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Chuck nodded and tapped out a few quick keystrokes which were followed by a brief whooshing sound indicating a message had been sent from his inbox. “I just sent that over to Doug Priestley and CC’d you.”

“Please keep in mind that this is not a promise of offering them employment,” Beckman warned, “And even if we do extend offers of employment or contracts, that is by no way any guarantee that they will accept.

“I know that.” Chuck nodded, “My sister can be a bit reluctant when it comes to unexpected changes to her life. Even if they say, ‘No,’ I appreciate you at least considering them.”

“You’re welcome. Now is there anything else that needs addressed?” Beckman stood, which caused the other 3 occupants of the room to rise as well, “This meeting is adjourned. Mr. Carmichael, if you have any questions regarding the logistics of preparing for your upcoming trip, please address them to your partners first. Major Casey, Agent Walker, I leave Mr. Carmichael in your capable hands.”

The three nodded and watched as Beckman made her way out of the room. Casey grunted something about needing to attend to some paperwork and preparations at the base and would see them in the morning for Chuck’s medical evaluation and their flight out to Europe. Chuck made quick work of disconnecting his laptop and packing it away before he and Sarah made their way to the lobby where they donned their trench coats and headed out to the car for the hour-long drive back to the apartment.

* * *

Not wanting to stay in their suits any longer than they needed to, the moment Chuck and Sarah returned home, they dove for the bedroom to change into something a little more comfortable. Namely, jeans and a brown Henley for Chuck, since they had no plans to leave again, he chose to forgo his normal converse and just wear socks. He’d already set up his laptop in the dining nook and was working to set up a cover email for Graham’s assistant when Sarah retuned to the living room. She was wearing yoga pants and a large Harvard sweatshirt which had been modified to hang off of one shoulder. Since they were in the middle of winter, she had also slipped on a pair of fluffy slouch socks to keep her feet warm.

“Already hard at work I see,” She smiled, stepping up behind Chuck and wrapping her arms loosely around his neck and kissing his cheek, “How do you feel about pizza?” It was already early afternoon when they had returned to the apartment and Sarah figured it would be a good idea for Chuck to eat before receiving his update as they didn’t know how long it would take for the information to assimilate into his brain.

“Pizza sounds good to me,” Chuck nodded, “Since we don’t know how long we’ll be out of the country, might be a good idea to not order anything too big.”

“Yeah, I was thinking a medium veggie,” She started.

“No olives,” They continued together.

“Would that be alright?” She inquired over her shoulder as she retrieved her cell phone from her bag and searched for the number for the local pizza place. “If you want to make half of it a supreme or peperoni or something, just let me know.”

“Veggie is fine with me,” Chuck assured her as he finished the set up and sent the cover email address and log-in instructions to Graham’s assistant, Deborah. “Alright, that’s done. I’ll check to see if she sent the travel itinerary after we’ve eaten.”

Sarah nodded as she pressed ‘send’ and quickly placed their order for delivery. Since they had some time to kill before the pizza arrived, they settled on the couch to snuggle and watch a little TV. They flipped through the channels before settling on the SciFy channel to watch a rerun of one of Chuck’s favorite childhood shows. Sarah had not seen many episodes as she and her dad were still traveling quite frequently when it had originally aired, but she remembered this one. The main character was dressed as a Southern Belle in a beauty pageant and performing ‘Great Balls of Fire’ for the talent section of the competition.

“You know,” Chuck spoke up as the man kicked over the piano bench, “I always thought he looked a bit like my dad.”

Sarah looked contemplatively between the screen and her boyfriend, “I saw some of your old family pictures when we were in town and I can definitely see the resemblance. You kinda look like your dad, too.”

“That’s what Ellie always says,” He nodded, “I do have some of mom’s traits, I know I got her eyes. My dad’s eyes were more of a green color whereas hers were hazel like mine. Her hair was also curlier than his so, I probably get my hair from her, too. I was so young when mom left, and she wasn’t home all that much even before that, so I don’t have a lot of memories of her. They mostly consist of her telling us stories of adventure and romance and baking all sorts of treats for us. She was always really intense; I think that’s where Ellie gets it from.”

“I know what that’s like,” Sarah nodded, “I was probably about 7 when I hit the road with my dad, so I must have been about 5 or 6 when my folks divorced. Didn’t have any contact with mom after that, not until…”

“Yeah, I know,” Chuck wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close so he could kiss the top of her head.

“And even then, it was so quick, we really didn’t have time to get to know each other as we are now.” Sarah sighed, “I missed her so much, I wish I’d had her with me as I grew up. Dad did the best he could, but there are just some things that a girl needs her mom for. But at the same time, I can’t regret not having her, either. If I did, I might not have ever met you. I would have grown up in Elk Grove, probably never joined the CIA, maybe have been a music teacher.”

“You’re probably right we probably wouldn’t have met in high school. I don’t think we ever competed against Northern California schools. Then again in this hypothetical scenario we might have met in college. I know you went to Harvard, but Stanford has pretty good music and education programs, so it’s entirely likely you might have gone there instead of paying out of state tuition at an Ivy League school.” Chuck shrugged, “Who knows, you might have wound up there and we would have bumped into each other in the main quad or the amphitheater. The Engineering and Education schools are literally next door to each other.”

“Hey, if that had happened, maybe then you could have avoided the whole Bryce situation,” She shrugged when there was a knock on the door. “That’s probably the pizza,” She hesitantly uncoiled herself from her position leaned up against Chuck’s side with her legs curled up beside her.

“I got this, my wallet is on the dining room table,” Chuck called after her.

“Pizza was my idea,” Sarah shook her head, “I’ll take care of it this time, but you owe me a romantic dinner when we get back.”

“Deal,” Chuck smiled as he watched her, appreciating how her pants accentuated one of his favorite assets as she moved. Her purse was on a coat rack by the door, she slipped her hand in and withdrew her wallet, pulling out a couple bills. Checking through the peep hole, she opened the door, accepted their pizza and paid the delivery guy before making her way back to the living room and setting the box down on the coffee table.

“Let me grab a couple plates and some napkins,” She smiled at her boyfriend who was looking hungrily at the box. “Do you want soda or water? I don’t think alcohol is a good idea before an upload.”

“Soda is fine. You’re probably right about the alcohol, the last upload left me with a pretty bad headache,” Chuck nodded, “No need to exacerbate the issue.”

Sarah returned a few moments later, plates and napkins in one hand a bottle of water and a cane of Coke in her other hand. They made quick work of their meal and settled back to let it digest as they watched the evening news. After cleaning up, Chuck checked his email and downloaded their travel itinerary and, after placing it in a folder, slid it into his laptop case before pulling out the glasses case.

“Are you ready for this?” Sarah asked softly.

“Even if I’m not, it’s not as if I have much of a choice in the matter,” Chuck shrugged, making his way over to the couch.

Sarah had retrieved a bottle of water and a bottle of generic acetaminophen and set them on the coffee table in case Chuck needed it. Figuring it would be best if he were comfortable, she let him settle on the couch and took a seat next to him, taking his hand in her own.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Chuck sighed.

“Wait,” Sarah stopped him, glasses halfway to his face. She leaned in and gave him a warm kiss before returning to her original position, “For luck,” She explained.

“Thanks,” He smiled at her and slipped the glasses on. The lenses displayed text stating ‘verifying,’ then shifted to say ‘Bartowski, Charles I.’ followed by ‘Identity verified’ before going blank a moment. A split second later a variety of images began to flicker across the lenses as Chuck absorbed the data.

Sarah saw him go stiff, almost paralyzed, eyes wide open, as lights flickered in front of his face. Nearly 15 minutes later, the flickering stopped, and Chuck’s body slumped. Sarah quickly removed the glasses and found he was still somewhat conscious, although he was fading fast and got him to shift over slightly until he was sitting closer to the middle of the couch. She gently guided him to the side until his head rested in her lap. He closed his eyes and seemed to relax more as she ran her fingers through his curls.

Chuck let out a sigh, the feeling of her fingers running through his hair was pure bliss and helped to relieve some of the pain that came with the download. Apparently being able to simply relax after a download went quite a ways toward reducing the resultant headache from the process. He let himself drift off for a short time.

She knew he’d fallen asleep but was hesitant to move from their present position. She chose to stay still, not only out of concern that she would wake him, but because something felt so right about the inherent intimacy of the moment. She reached over and pulled the afghan that lay over the back of the couch and laid it over her sleeping boyfriend, even being able to curl it around to cover her a bit as well. As she lay her head back and allowed herself to drift off as well, she let her fingers continue to play with his curls. His most recent haircut had left the sides of his hair shorter and was still long enough to allow a little bit of curl on the top. It was meant to make him look more professional, and it did, despite that, Sarah loved that there was still enough there for her the small strokes of her fingers against his scalp to create new animal shapes within his curls. Chuck awoke an hour or so later, with a small headache and quickly popped a couple pain relief tablets, swallowing them down with the water that Sarah had graciously left for him. 

“How are you feeling?” Sarah’s soft voice chimed behind him as he felt her shift on the couch until her side was pressed against his and her head rested on his shoulder.

“Not too bad, all things considered,” Chuck shrugged, “Small headache, but no where near the pounding the original download caused. Not sure if it was because of the lower number of files transmitted or your stellar aftercare, but I do know that from now on anytime I need to do anything having to do with intersect files transfer, I want you there afterwards.”

“If that is want you need to be the best host for the intersect, I’m more than happy to oblige,” She smiled up at him.

“And I do need, not just for the intersect, but for me, in general” Chuck kissed her forehead.

“I can make that work too,” She grinned reaching up to press a kiss to his lips, “Feel up to a test?”

Chuck took another long draw of water and took a deep breath. His headache was already abating as he shrugged, “Might as well.”

Sarah then proceeded to quiz him, in Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, about anything and everything that should have been included in the most recent files uploaded. The process took about an hour to complete and she was pleased when he answered accurately and in the proper languages and dialects to match the language the questions had been asked in. Once the test was concluded, they noticed it was getting late and retired to their room so that they would be well rested for the events of the following day.


	17. Chapter 17

It was still dark out when the alarm went off, Chuck blindly reached over and silenced it, wrapping Sarah back up in his arms and nuzzling his nose into her hair.

“Charlie, you know we have to get up at some point,” Sarah reminded him, tilting her head up to press a soft kiss against the morning stubble on his jaw.

“Don’t wanna,” He groaned, “It’s still dark and cold out there; in here it’s warm, and comfortable. Best of all, my Jenny is here, and I love snuggling with her.”

“Your Jenny is going to be with you every step of the way for the foreseeable future,” Sarah reminded him.

“Yeah, but I can’t snuggle with you at whim out there,” Chuck countered.

“Maybe not,” She acquiesced, “But it’s a long fight to Europe, we are taking a CIA charter, and Casey can’t stay awake the whole time. We’re trained to get sleep when we can because we don’t always know when the next time that we’ll be able to will be. Besides, it comes with a state room in the aft section… I had a few ideas about some activities that we could enjoy once we were a mile off the ground.”

Chuck grinned coyly at his girlfriend, “I like the way you think, Jenny.” He leaned down to kiss her before releasing his hold on her and getting out of bed.

“Where are you going?” She asked, as if she didn’t know.

“Well, if it’s a charter flight, it can go whenever we are ready,” Chuck pointed out, “I have to get my head examined,” He rolled his eyes at the unladylike snort that emitted from his girlfriend’s mouth as he opened drawers and the closet grabbing his clothes, “Before we can take off, so I figure the sooner we can get me checked out the sooner we can get to the plane and onto other, more satisfying, activities.”

“You know we still will have to wait for Casey,” Sarah arched an eyebrow at him as she watched him pulling his suit and a dress shirt from the closet and toss the jacket of the suit over the arm of the chair in the corner of the room. “We can’t leave until he is on board.”

“True,” Chuck leaned in and gave her a soft kiss before crossing to the bathroom, “But he lives at Fort Meade. If we notify him when we arrive on base, the time it takes for me to be checked out should be long enough for him to get ready to go.”

“You just might have a point. We probably should tell him before we start our way up there, in case he needs to be at your evaluation,” Sarah recommended as she got out of bed and began collecting her clothes for the day.

“Alright, let me get a shower really quick and I’ll load up the car and call him while you get ready,” Chuck smiled at his girlfriend from where he stood, leaning against the bathroom door.

“Or we can shower together, save a little water,” She gave him a salacious once over.

“You and I both know that won’t save any water,” Chuck snickered “But I appreciate the attempt.”

“So, you don’t want to?” She pouted.

“Wait a second, I didn’t say that,” He grinned, “Let me get the water warmed up while you grab your things.”

“I like the way you think Charlie,” She finished grabbing her things and joined him in the bathroom where they proceeded to ‘help’ each other undress and clean the hard to reach, and not-so hard to reach places. Some areas had to be cleaned twice over when their playful shower turned steamy.

The glass was fogged over when they finally exited the shower, studiously wrapping themselves in towels so as to not wind up wrapped up in each other again, mindful that they needed to be on their way soon. Chuck quickly slipped his boxers on under the towel before removing it to run it over his hair again, his curls practically begging for Sarah to run her fingers through them again. Looping the towel over his shoulders, he pulled his shaving cream from his dopp kit and began spreading the foam over his jaw and cheeks as he let the water run in the sink.

Sarah watched as he meticulously rid his face of the stubble that had grown over the afternoon and night hours as she tried to focus on brushing and drying her hair. She was only partly done by the time he had finished, grabbed his clothes and dopp kit, and kissed her on the cheek saying he was going to get out of her way so she could finish getting ready. She didn’t know how he expected her to do that when he left the bathroom door open so that she could see his every move as he finished getting dressed. After pulling on his socks and undershirt, he slipped on a white dress shirt, and the black slacks of his suit. Sarah silently thanked Devon for making sure that Chuck’s suits had been tailored, she especially liked the way his slacks fit his backside as he leaned over first from his seat on the bench at the foot of the bed to tie his dress shoes then slightly over the dresser as he looped his tie around his neck and attempted to knot it before giving up and tossing the thin strip of fabric to lay atop his suit jacket.

She had a brief reprieve when he picked up his dopp kit and walked out to the living room where their suitcases were waiting to be loaded into the car. After pulling on a pair of nylons in deference to the cold winter weather, she got dressed in the light grey skirt and pastel pink blouse she had chosen for the day before pulling her hair up in a French twist and applying a light dusting of makeup before packing up her makeup and toiletry kits and exiting the bathroom. She smelled coffee brewing as she walked into the bedroom, slipping her feet into her favorite pair of black, Louis Vuitton, pumps; the ones with the four-inch heel. Looking around to make sure there wasn’t anything else they would be needing for their trip before picking up her suit jacket and Chuck’s slinging them over her arm and making her way into the living room.

She lay the suit jackets over the back of the sofa and made quick work of packing her makeup and toiletry kits in her luggage before doing a final check of their bags to ensure nothing that would be needed that day and their subsequent mission would be forgotten. Crossing to her wall safe, which was hidden behind a generic painting of a vista, she typed in the code and pressed her thumb to the card reader to unlock the reinforced door. She extracted her throwing knives, attaching the holster to her upper right leg, ensuring they were secure before lowering her skirt and extracting both her Smith and Wesson 5906 and the Hi-Cappa Tranq pistol that she had convinced Chuck to carry, along with their holsters, tucking her holster into the waist band of her skirt, closing the safe, and repositioning the painting to cover the hidden compartment.

Chuck had just finished pouring their coffee in to travel mugs by the time Sarah had returned to the dining area. He handed her mug to her and accepted his holstered tranq pistol, attaching it to his belt the way she and Casey had shown him so that it was easily concealed by his suit jacket but still easily accessible if he needed it. Part of his training at Fort Meade with Casey had included firearms training, and while he proved to be a very skilled shot, nearly as good as Casey’s decades of military training without having to use the Intersect, he wasn’t comfortable carrying a live weapon. The tranq pistol was the compromise he and his team had agreed upon, despite how much Casey still grumped about him carrying a ‘sissy mama’s-boy weapon,’ he knew that the older man at least took some solace in the fact he at least had something beyond the Intersect with which to protect himself.

“You’re looking good Agent Walker,” He smiled down at his girlfriend, pressing a kiss to her lips, “You always look good to me, but this whole get up is… wow.”

“You don’t look half bad yourself,” She grinned up at him, wiping her thumb over the corner of his bottom lip to remove the stray bit of lipstick that had transferred from her lips to his in their brief exchange. He had been fit when they’d reconnected three months before, but the training he’d had over the last month had filled him out more without making him overly bulky. She found she loved how well his shirt fit across his broader chest and shoulders, and how it felt to run her fingers over the more defined muscles that ran up his torso and arms. “But you probably should wear your tie, otherwise you may get some odd looks once we reach Fort Meade.”

“I know,” He nodded, “I just couldn’t get it to lay right.”

“Let me see what I can do,” Sarah set her mug down and walked into the living room to retrieve his tie before returning. She gestured for him to crouch down a bit so that it was easier to loop the fabric around his collar where she made quick work of tying a full Windsor knot and tightening it until his rested lightly against the top button of his shirt so as to not make it feel as if it were choking him. She ran her hand down the length of his tie to ensure it lay as it should, and perhaps as an excuse to feel the responding ripple of his abs clenching beneath her touch. “That’s better,” She straightened his collar and used it to pull him down to press another kiss to his lips.

“Thanks, Jenny,” He rose to his full height and smiled down at her, “There’s one last yogurt in the fridge and a banana on the counter if you want to get a little something to eat before we take off. I already ate, so I’m gonna take the bags down to the car. I’ll be right back.”

Sarah nodded and ducked into the kitchen, grabbing the yogurt and banana, eating as she watched him collect their suitcases, leaving their carry-ons sitting on one of the dining room chairs. He pulled on his trench coat in deference to the cold that still permeated the underground parking structure in which her car was parked, and grabbed the keys, tucking them into his coat pocket before wheeling both bags out the door with a small smile over his shoulder at him and a promise to return in a moment before closing the door behind him.

By the time he had returned, she had finished eating and had emptied the coffee maker and washed the carafe and her spoon and placed them in the drying rack next to the one Chuck had used and cleaned while she was getting ready.

“Alright, bags are in the car,” Chuck shrugged off his coat, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s get going,” Sarah nodded, letting Chuck help her on with her suit jacket and trench coat before donning his suit jacket and coat. They both grabbed their laptop cases that they were using as carry-ons, Chuck made one last sweep through the apartment to make sure the coffee maker was turned off and joined Sarah at the front door where he turned off the lights and followed her out, securing the door behind them.

When they had gotten down to the car, he unlocked and opened Sarah’s door for her, handing her the keys as she handed her bag to him and slipped behind the wheel. He closed her door, rounded the car to the passenger side and slid into his own seat, setting both their bags on the ground between his feet. Since Sarah had to focus on driving, he pulled his cellphone from his bag and dialed Casey’s number to let him know they were on their way up to Fort Meade.

* * *

An accident on Highway 495 delayed them and extended their drive from 45 minutes to nearly an hour and a half. They were still ahead of schedule to arrive at Fort Meade, but not by as much as they had originally hoped to be. They showed their credentials at the gate and were waved through with directions on how to reach the on-base medical facility. As they pulled into the parking area, they saw Casey who was meticulously covering what looked to be a well-cared for 1985 Ford Crown Vic with a car cover. Chuck thought it was a little strange, but figured to each his own. Sarah pulled her car to a stop and they exited the car, greeting Casey before the three of them entered the medical facility and made their way to the radiology department.

The receptionist was startled when she looked up to see two very tall men, the broader of whom appeared to be very intimidating. They were with a stunning blond woman whose eyes were on constant alert. Pushing her glasses up her nose and smoothing her hair back into its regulation bun, she rose and greeted the trio, inquiring how she could help. The younger of the two men gave her a warm smile and introduced himself stating that he was there to get his head examined, which caused the receptionist to giggle and the blond woman next to him to briefly smile before resetting to the focused visage she was showing before. The larger man rolled his eyes and informed her that the younger man was there for a pre-operational PET scan.

The receptionist nodded and looked into her files, finding the notation for the younger man, a Charles Ignatius Carmichael. He didn’t have a set appointment time, his file simply stated that he would be arriving that day, but they had not expected him to arrive until mid-morning or early afternoon. Luckily, there was a technician available to see him. The receptionist invited the man and woman with Mr. Carmichael to take a seat in the waiting area while she took the patient back to be seen. She noticed the look that passed between the man’s companions before the man himself spoke up.

“We are actually under orders that at least one of my companions accompany me at all times,” He gave a little half shrug as if to communicate, ‘What can you do?’ “I hope that’s not too much of a problem.”

“None whatsoever,” The receptionist assured him, “So long as they are okay staying in the technician’s booth while your PET scan is being performed for their safety.”

“That is just fine,” The man nodded, looking toward his companions. The older man nodded and took his seat while the woman stepped up beside him. “Lead the way.”

The receptionist guided them down the corridor and through a maze of halls until they reached the radiology suite where his test would be performed. She introduced them to the technician and exited the room to allow the test to be performed.

Chuck was shown into a changing room and instructed to remove all his clothing and any piercings and dress in the scrubs that were provided. When he returned, they had him lay down on the table with instructions to not move until they told him to. Luckily, he didn’t have to lay there for long, as the PET scan only took a few minutes to complete its recordings. Nor did it take longer than a few minutes for the results to be rendered on the screen. The wait was just long enough for Chuck to change back into his suit. He returned to the technician’s office which doubled as the consultation room and took a seat next to Sarah, but not too close as to seem unprofessional.

“Well, Mr. Carmichael,” The radiologist smiled at him, “Your scans came back clean. I’m not sure why they needed this information before you departed, but from what I can tell, your brain is in perfect condition. Actually, you have slightly more brain activity than the average person, which is not terribly uncommon for someone with a higher intelligence quotient, such as yourself. I will make sure your results are put into your file immediately so that we do not have need to delay you further.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Chuck and Sarah rose and shook the doctor’s hand before exiting the office and meeting up with Casey in the waiting room.

The next stop would be to meet one last time with Beckman to get any last-minute information they would need for their trip. Sarah slipped into her car, starting it and turning up the heater to warm up the engine and the interior as Chuck helped Casey in removing the cover from the Crown Vic, shaking the snow off and helping him to fold it to be stowed away in the trunk of the car. Once Casey’s car was likewise started and warmed up the two vehicles caravanned over to the Administration building within which resided the offices of the NSA and DNI’s directorate.

Once they had cleared security, Casey, being the most familiar with the facility. took the lead. Guiding them down a secluded hallway, he submitted to a retina scan which released the lock of the adjacent door with a soft click. They traversed the hall a bit further to an elevator that took them up three levels. When the doors opened, they stepped into a finely appointed lobby. In the center of the floor was the seal of the NSA. They crossed to a reception desk and showed their credentials, Casey informed the receptionist that they were there to meet with General Beckman. The man nodded and picked up his phone, spoke a few words and hung up before instructing them to head back to her office.

Beckman’s outer office was staffed by two young men in service uniforms, one was a USAF Airman, the other a Solder of the US Army. Both were enlisted, the insignias on the upper arm and forearm of their jackets showed as much. Casey stepped up to the Airman who promptly acknowledged him, he introduced himself and his colleagues, stating he had a standing appointment with the general. The man nodded his understanding and asked the three agents to be seated until he informed them that the general was ready to see them.

As Chuck, Sarah, and Casey took their seats, the airman lifted the receiver of his desk phone and had a brief exchange before setting the handset back down and informing them that the general was on a call and would be with them shortly. Twenty minutes later, they were finally ushered into the room.

“Good morning, team,” General Beckman gestured to the chairs that sat opposite her desk and waited for the team to be seated. “You all seem quite eager to get started with your latest assignment. I just received the results of Mr. Carmichael’s scans along with the all-clear from the medical staff. Your travel arrangements have been finalized, you will fly to Paris, stopping to refuel before continuing on to Debrecen.” She slid a large envelope across the desk and waited for Chuck, who was sitting in the middle of the group, to retrieve it and pull out the documentation. “As you can see, we have your finalized itinerary and documentation. When you leave, Sargent Browne will give you the most recent intelligence we have for your mission for you to review on your flight. We informed your local flight crew that you were running ahead of schedule and they are in the process of filing their flight plan and should be ready to depart as soon as you get to the field. Best of luck to you; dismissed.”

The team stood in unison and exited the office, stopping to retrieve their intelligence packet from the soldier manning the desk closest to the outer door of the office. Once Casey led them out of the labyrinth that was the NSA headquarters’ office, they once again loaded up in their vehicles and made their way over to the private airfield not far from Fort Meade from which thier flight would be departing. They soon found spots in the parking structure and unloaded their bags before proceeding into the terminal to meet the flight crew for the first leg of their journey.


	18. Chapter 18

When the team arrived at the airport, the pilots greeted them. It was apparent to Chuck that both Casey and Sarah had met them before and the pilots were familiar with them, if the jokes the pilots were making about being superfluous as Sarah and Casey could easily have flown the plane instead of them, although they appreciated the flight hours since they were approaching the end of the year. The larger baggage was quickly towed in the hold and the team boarded the plane. The first officer came in not too long after them and began her preflight checklist while the Captain completed his walk around.

What had surprised Chuck was that when the Captain had entered the cockpit, he leaned over and gave his first officer a peck on the cheek. When he turned to Sarah, who had seen interaction as well, for explanation, she smiled and explained that the pilots had been married for several years and despite it not being officially in their files. Beckman was aware of their marital status and allowed them to be scheduled on the same flights the majority of the time, the exceptions being the couple times the first officer had been on leave for the birth of their children who were now school aged.

“As a general rule, Beckman has no issue with relationships between those in her command structure, unless it is in violation of a military code.” Sarah explained.

“Even then, she’s likely to push through a OCS application to eliminate that disparity,” Casey added, overhearing their conversation, “Happened for a buddy of mine a few years back, he was a Staff Sergeant when he met this pretty young thing and they hit it off, come that Monday he found out she was a First Lieutenant. When they found out, they initially were going to let it go, but wound up seeing each other on the sly. When it got serious, he applied to OCS, Beckman got wind of it about the time she had pegged his girl for NSA work. She pushed his application through and extended an offer to both of ‘em.”

Chuck nodded his understanding just as the first officer shouted over her shoulder that they had just gotten clearance to take off before closing the cockpit door for take off as the captain had already closed and secured the cabin door when he’d completed his walk-around. They heard the left engine start up and the plane give a slight jolt as it began to move down the taxi way. They didn’t taxi long before arriving at the runway line. When they heard the right engine join its twin, the sound of the turbines spooling up growing louder, they checked their seatbelts for takeoff. The plane gave a jump and started down the field at an ever-accelerating pace until they felt the first moment of weightlessness as the plane started it ascent into the sky. The plane banked a few times according to the headings they were given by the tower in order to safely join the flow of air traffic for their journey.

A few dozen miles off the eastern seaboard, they reached their cruising altitude and were advised by the pilots that it was safe to be about their business. Since they wanted to go over the mission parameters once more, they retrieved their carry-ons, withdrawing folders and laptops, spreading them over the table that had been previously stowed against a wall and was brought down between them for this purpose. The seats in that section of the cabin were configured to have two forward facing and two rear facing seats to accommodate meetings and create a workspace when needed.

Casey held the envelope with their travel documents and promptly distributed the necessary passports, visas, and other identifying items to the team. Sarah’s held the information on Fedorov’s previous dealings and associates, and Chuck’s held an incomplete list of potential guests of the events that were to occur over the next several days. According to the intelligence, Mr. Fedorov was to be attending the wedding of an associate’s daughter, the analysts had not been able to discover the identity of the bride or her parents prior to the trip. Since Fedorov was the primary focus, their identities were deemed inconsequential. Along with the briefing information, several photos with dossiers printed on the back were included.

Sarah had handed the photos to Chuck to familiarize himself with the possible other attenders of the wedding. He hadn’t been flipping through the photos long when he began to flash. Once the flash subsided, his eyes shot over to Casey. “Uh Casey, there something you should be aware of.”

Casey raised an eyebrow with a clear meaning of ‘Get on with it,’ implied in the gesture.

“I hate to break it to you, but you know Mr. Fedorov’s newest gal-pal,” Chuck looked at Sarah as an impish grin lifted the corners of his mouth, “I just thought you should be aware that your old flame, Ilsa, might be there… Sugarbear.”

The speed at which Casey lept across the table, scattering files and papers every which way while thankfully avoiding the laptops, was remarkable. Growling as he loomed menacingly over the younger man, he grabbed Chuck by his tie, “Don’t you ever say that name again, do you understand?” The hurt in his eyes was clear only for the briefest of moments before he regained his composure and slowly released his hold on Chuck.

Sarah watched the interaction with wide eyes before picking up the photo from where it had landed on the table in front of her looking briefly at the picture before turning it over and scanning the information on the back. “Casey, he’s telling you the truth.”

“Can’t be, she died 4 year ago in Grozny,” Casey shook his head refusing to admit what he was starting to know was true, “Must be someone else using her name. Those commies do that all the time, recycle identities.”

“While that may very well be true,” Sarah turned the photo back over and pushed it over to lay face-up at him, “It’s not as likely they have the ability to recycle her face. I’m sorry Casey.”

Casey stared at the photo, his finger absentmindedly tracing along the line of her pictures’ jaw. He had loved her once, if she had asked, he would have left it behind just to be with her. His mind flitted back to that morning, she had been so happy at the little trinket he’d found for her at the local bazaar and was modeling it for him as he tried in vain to get her to forgo work for a little longer and come back to bed. She had simply laughed, gave him a kiss that promised more later, and said that she would be back before he knew it.

The fear that racked his body as the explosion’s concussive force rocked the building and made his heart skip a beat still lived on in his memory. He had pulled on his pants and shirt from the night before, slipping his feet into his tactical boots and securing the laces, all with a speed he’d never achieved even during his time in basic training or at the academy. The scene that met him when he’d exited the hotel was grim, he’d seen scenes such as this throughout his military and NSA career, many times they were worse than this. Shrapnel and detritus were scattered over the roadway from the black hole that had previously been their favorite café, where they had started most of their mornings during their time together. Bodies in various states of brokenness and life followed the reverse trajectory of the blast, many were burnt, but not so bad as to prevent identifying by the local authorities who, by the sounds of the approaching sirens, were close. He made his way through the chaos desperately searching, but the only thing he found was her camera. He assumed her body had been close enough to the explosion to burn up on impact, and he hoped that her death had been quick without any suffering, although he knew the likelihood of that was doubtful.

The sound of his name being called brought him out of his reverie as his partners looked at him, concern evident on their faces. “I don’t believe it,” He barely whispered, but the evidence was clear by the picture in his hand. She was a little older than he remembered, but the light in her eyes was the same. The only thing that gave him pause was the chain around her neck, the pendant had been cut off, but… could she still have the necklace he had given her that day?

“There’s more, Case,” Chuck called his attention once more, “She’s DGSE, her ‘death’ was staged. Her agency knew about the two of you and while you were in Grozny. They also had received info about the café bombing and used it as a reason to remove her from the situation. I am so sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Casey sighed, “Happens more often than you think, Hell, I’ve had to fake my death a few times over the years.”

“Yes, but your deaths didn’t cut you off from your loved ones,” Chuck pointed out, “Kathleen and Alex always knew you were safe because you had ways of letting them know it was fake.”

“Is there anything else we need to go over before we get to Paris?” Casey changed the subject, “I want to try to get some shut-eye, so I don’t get jet lagged.”

Chuck looked like he wanted to say something but was stopped when Sarah laid a gentle hand on his arm. “There’s nothing more that can’t be handled on the flight to Hungary in the morning.” She assured him.

Casey gave a sharp nod of acknowledgement as they packed up their workspace. Once the table was secured once more, he settled on the couch, since he figured his partners would want to share the bed in the small stateroom located to the aft of the aircraft. As he watched the young couple retreat into the room, he let out a weary sigh. He wasn’t in the least bit tired enough to sleep, which was fine, jetlag didn’t really affect him anymore after all the traveling he had to do for his job. One thing he did know, he needed to sit with this information for a while, allow himself a brief time, while his team was otherwise occupied, to build up the wall he would need to get through this mission and seeing her again. He would deal with the emotional fallout once the mission was completed and he was alone in his personal quarters once more. He wasn’t nearly as hardened as he let the majority of the world believe, only his daughter and the scant few women he’d opened his heart to, Kathleen, Ilsa, Gertie, had even seen glimpses of his vulnerable side. It was why Ilsa called him Sugarbear, he’d let her see more of him than even Kathleen had ever seen. Opening up to her had been so easy, he just hoped he could get through this with his heart still intact.

* * *

Chuck closed the door behind them and turned to see Sarah sit on the side of the full-size bed, which took up most of the room, and bend down to slip off her shoes. He gave her a small smile and shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on one of the hangers that was attached to the bar in the conveniently provided alcove to the side of the door. Sarah had shown him where it was earlier in the flight when she had put her own suit jacket away shortly after boarding the plane. It only took him two small steps to get to the bed where he sat beside her, toeing off his own shoes.

“Jen, I’m sorry, I know we were kinda looking forward to our flight today,” He started out softly, taking his girlfriend’s hand in his, “But it somehow seems wrong when Casey is out there hurting. I know he’d refuse to admit it if I pointed it out but…”

“You’re right,” Sarah nodded, “On both counts, and your empathy is one of the things I love most about you, Charlie.”

“I love you, too,” He kissed the top of her head, “Besides, it’s not like there won’t be other flights. We have at least one more to get to Debrecen, and then there are the return flights…”

“True,” She smiled up at him.

“So I’m thinking we get comfy and really cozy in the tiny bed at try to get some sleep,” Chuck suggested, undoing his tie as he spoke, “The big guy wasn’t wrong when he said we should at least try to rest so we aren’t hit as hard with jetlag.”

“Alright,” Sarah nodded, standing and reaching behind her back to lower the zipper of her skirt which she folded over the bar of the hanger that already held her jacket. She also slipped off her stockings and blouse, hanging them up as well. She was down to her bra, chamise, and panties by the time she climbed into the bed and scooted over toward the far wall against which one of the long sides of the bed was secured.

Chuck, likewise, didn’t waste any time stripping himself of his tie, shirt, slacks and socks, hanging and folding them so they wouldn’t get wrinkled. Clad in his undershirt and boxers, he slipped under the covers and pulled Sarah into his arms until her head rested on his chest and her legs entwined themselves with his in their favorite sleeping position. The combination of their early start, the mission prep they had been doing since before the left Burbank, as well as the travel that they had done over the past week or so, and the exhaustion of everything that had been going on since they had reconnected settled over them, leading them to drift off into a peaceful sleep that lasted nearly the full remaining length of the flight.

They’d had just enough time to wake, dress, and fix their appearance before Casey knocked on the door to the stateroom informing them that they’d better come take their seats for landing. When they’d emerged from the room, they saw Casey in one of the rear facing seats, buckled in for landing and took their seats opposite him, securing their seatbelts just in time for their final descent into section of the Charles De Gaulle airport designated for charter and private flights. When they had taxied to the gate and the door opened the team and their flight crew busied themselves collecting their various bags and departed the plane to clear customs.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long to clear customs as they had shipped their weapons and more sensitive equipment to the consulate where they would be picking them up the next day upon their arrival in Hungary. Since the pilots legally needed to rest after the long flight, the five of them split up, in order to maintain their covers, Chuck and Sarah as well as Casey were booked in a high-end hotel for the night and he pilots were put in a mid-level accommodation.

When Chuck had found out that they would be overnighting in Paris, he had been excited to take in the sights, especially the Eiffel Tower, which he’d been fascinated by since he was a young child. His enthusiasm dimmed slightly when Sarah had pointed out, as gently as she could, that their stop over wasn’t going to be long enough to do more than eat a quick dinner, sleep, grab something on the way to the plane for breakfast, and take off again. This, however, was followed up by a promise that they would come back again someday when they had all the time they needed to explore and enjoy the city.

Chuck tried not to stare in awe at the grandeur of the hotel with its high ceilings and elegant chandelier in the lobby. He had never dreamed he would be allowed into a place such as this, not even when he had first entered Stanford with the dream of making a name for himself in the tech industry, did he think he would make it to the level of such opulence. Of course, with the elegant Sarah Walker on his arm, he at least looked as if he might possibly belong there despite feeling like a total fraud. Pushing all this to the side, he approached the front desk as confidently as he could to check into tnhe rooms that they would be occupying for the night, making a point to ensure Casey was put into a room adjoining the suite that Sarah and himself would be using. This gave Casey the illusion of easy access to his ‘employers’ for security purposes, but also left a rather large living area between his room and theirs so as to not be disturbed by any extracurricular activities they may wish to engage in.

Once they had received their room keys and a porter had been called by the front desk to deliver their bags to their rooms, they made their way upstairs. The three of them stayed in the living area, Chuck and Sarah seated close together on the sofa and Casey in a chair nearby. They could easily follow the movements of the porter in each room from their vantage points, in case he tried something he shouldn’t. It only took a few moments for the young man to unpack their toiletries and place them in the bathroom as well as their charging stations for their phones which were placed on the dresser of the room. He had been under strict instruction to not disturb their clothing as they would be only staying the night. When he indicated his work was done, Chuck tipped him generously and sent him on his way while Casey swept the rooms for bugs.

When Casey was satisfied the rooms were clean, he made a point to inform his partners that his adjoining door was going to be locked the remainder of the night and he was to not be disturbed for any reason. Chuck and Sarah nodded their understanding and retreated to their own room for the night. Changing into their pajamas, they slipped into the large bed which was much more luxurious than the small bed in the state room of the jet they’d flown in on. Their intention was to simply snuggle until sleep overtook them, but after a bit, the snuggling lent to small kisses between them, which progressed to making out, and concluded in them tired and spent after indulging in a round of love making as they drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

They were awoken the next morning by Casey pounding on their door telling them to get a move on. As it turned out, they had forgotten to set their alarms, so Casey’s abrupt wake-up call was helpful for them. Sarah called back that they would be out shortly as she and Chuck slid out of bed and quickly got ready for their day, Sarah showering first while Chuck shaved, then switching places so that Chuck could shower quickly as Sarah dried and styled her hair and did her make up. After quickly dressing and packing up the items they had used the previous night, checking that nothing was left behind, they joined Casey in the living area of the large suite where an assortment of breakfast pastries, fruit, and coffee sat waiting for them. They ate quickly while they waited for the porter to retrieve their luggage to take them out to the SUV that would return them to the airport.

The pilots had beaten them to the airport, completed their walk around, and were already in the cockpit with the heater warming the aircraft by the time the team had arrived. As soon as the ground crew had stowed their luggage, the first officer closed the main cabin door before returning to the cockpit and closing the door behind herself. A moment later they heard the breaks disengage and felt the plane begin to taxi. The captain informed them that it might be a bit before they could take off as they were in line behind all the larger, mainline and regional, aircraft for take-off. A half hour later they heard the engines roar to life as they started down the runway, launching into the sky on their way to Debrecen.


	19. Chapter 19

The drive to the airport was a relatively short 15-minute drive. By the time the team had cleared security in the private terminal and been escorted out to their plane, the pilots had already completed their walk-around, started up the auxiliary power unit, and had the heater on the plane already running so that the cabin was at a comfortable temperature by the time they were on board. The pilots greeted the team as they boarded and closed the door while they all waited for the ground crew loaded up their luggage. Soon the captain was confirming with the first officer that the fuel weight was within the parameters for weight and balance before calling his order in for fuel. Less than 20 minutes later the captain is given the thumbs up that the fuelers are done, with the tower approving their flight plan, and given the go-ahead to taxi to the line, they are ready to take off.

Casey nodded off not too long after they reached altitude, so Chuck and Sarah made their way to the stateroom at the aft of the aircraft to have their fun without being harassed by the elder member of their team. They awoke, sated, in each other’s arms about 45 minutes before arrival in Debrecen and quickly dressed. Casey gave them a knowing look, but said nothing as the young couple made their way to the galley to grab a quick lunch of premade sandwiches and bottled water before joining their partner, who was finishing up his own meal, to run over the set up one last time before arriving in Hungary.

They had just tossed their debris in the trash when the captain announced they were beginning their decent into Debrecen and that they needed to take their seats in preparation for arrival. The flight time in total from the time they blocked out in Paris to the time the chalks were placed in Debrecen, was just under two and a half hours. As they had before, they cleared customs with their carry-ons as the rest of their luggage was sent through customs and to the baggage claim area of the customs office. Once the pilots made sure the team had both their numbers, they confirmed they would not be needed for a few days at the least, after which the team would check in with them daily to update their departure date.

The team had reservations at the Belga Boutique Hotel where, according to their intel, the wedding party as well as the majority of the guests would be staying. The pilots were put up in a hotel not too far off which boasted a spa which the first officer had already informed them she planned to take full advantage of. A statement that made the captain roll his eyes until she enticed him with the idea of a private couples’ massage on their wedding anniversary which, incidentally, was the next night.

Two CIA-owned SUVs met them outside in the passenger pickup area, but a distance apart, each with a CIA agent dressed as a chauffeur and holding a sign, one with the last name of the pilots, and one with the name ‘Carmichael’ written across in blocky script.

“Showtime,” Chuck hummed in Sarah’s ear as he wrapped his right arm around her waist and guiding them to the SUV that awaited them while Casey followed a few feet behind pushing a baggage trolley piled up with their suitcases. After exchanging handshakes with their ‘driver’ Sarah and Chuck slid into the back seat while Casey and their Driver, a man who identified himself as Joel Newsom, loaded up the luggage before taking their seats up front. As they drove, Chuck pulled a small blue velveteen box from his pocket. “Jenny,” He caught her attention, opening the box to reveal a beautiful, cushion-cut solitaire in a halo setting with diamonds inlaid into the platinum bands of both the wedding and engagement rings, the stones winking and shimmering in the early afternoon light.

“Those are beautiful,” Sarah whispered, awed at the beauty of the set.

“May I?” Chuck offered, lifting the rings from the box. Sarah said not a word, holding out her left hand as he slipped the wedding ring onto the ring finger of her left hand, his eyes never leaving hers. He repeated the process with the engagement ring before cradling her fingers in his hand as he lifted her hand to press a soft kiss on the knuckle against which the wedding set now rested. The couple shared a warm smile before Chuck closed the blue box and removed a smaller black box from his pocket, lifting the lid to reveal a wedding ring in a thicker style that is common for men’s rings. It was a platinum band with seven channel set diamonds along the top of the band. Lifting the ring from its box, he moved to slip it on to his left hand when Sarah stopped him, plucking the ring from his fingers.

“May I?” She echoed him, slipping the ring over his finger until it rested, securely, at the base of his ring finger. She then took his left hand in her own hands, right hand below and left hand atop his, their matching rings shimmering in the cold winter’s light. The sight of the rings on their fingers looking right in a way that made her hope to see a similar sight one day, but perhaps with a set that was more her style. The set was lovely, but a bit too opulent for her liking.

They barely resisted the temptation to make out in the back seat, not wanting to make their driver uncomfortable. If it had been only them and Casey, all bets would have been off. The SUV soon turned off the roadway and into the curved drive of the hotel where a bellman met them, opening their doors and offering a hand to Sarah as she and the men stepped out and waited for the bellman to unload their baggage and stack it on his cart.

The bellman followed them inside and waited patiently as Chuck and Casey checked into their rooms. Casey’s was on a lower floor so his luggage was dropped first before the bellman followed the younger couple up to their room and waited until Chuck had scooped up a giggling Sarah up in his arms and carried her over the threshold to unload the bags into the closet and dresser provided in the suite. After Chuck made sure to tip the bellman well and thank him, he closed the door behind the uniformed hotel employee and turned back to Sarah who stood, leaned against the bedroom door, smiling at him.

“Well Mrs. Carmichael,” Chuck gave her a sly grin, “Care to make this place our own?”

“I don’t know, Mr. Carmichael,” Sarah teased back, “What exactly did you have in mind.”

“Oh, a great many things,” Chuck growled low in his throat as he stepped over to stand in front of him, eyes sparkling mischievously as he leaned down to hover over her trapping her between his body and the door frame. She closed her eyes and felt his warm breath brush over her cheeks, rippling her lashes enough to tickle her which brought a bright blush to her face. When her eyes opened, she was looking straight into the warm, fathomless hazel eyes of her boyfriend and partner.

Chuck took the slight blush that rose to Sarah’s cheeks as a sign to continue as he lowered his head closer to hers and pressed a soft kiss which was soon comfortably progressing further. An hour later, they were relaxing in their suite’s lush bed, enjoying the brief respite before getting into the mission. The hotel had a social hour every evening that they were planning to attend in hopes that they might spot Federov or one of his associates.

“We probably should start getting ready to head downstairs,” Chuck sighed, his hand drawing lazy circles on his girlfriend’s bare shoulder.

“I don’t want to,” Sarah sighed, nuzzling into his chest, “I’m too comfortable.”

“I am too,” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, “But I think we both know if we don’t head down soon, Casey will come looking for us.”

“I hate Casey,” Sarah moaned.

“No, you don’t,” He chuckled, “How about this? We shower together, you can slip into something temptingly sexy before we head downstairs. I’ll let you ply me with booze until I agree to let you drag me back upstairs to have your way with me.”

“Fine,” Sarah groaned, pushing up and out of his arms, “But for the record, you play dirty, Mr. Carmichael.”

“Never,” He mock scoffed, “I’m just a man who knows how to do what he needs to and how to get what he wants, Mrs. Carmichael.”

Sarah rolled her eyes as she slipped out of the bed and sauntered her way, naked, over to the ensuite bathroom, “Are you coming?”

“Now who’s fighting dirty?” Chuck snickered, hopping out bed and chasing her into the bathroom their laughter soon blended with the sound of the shower and the sighs they elicited from each other echoing off the tile of the luxurious bathroom.

Nearly an hour later, a knock sounded on their door. Chuck buttoned the last few buttons of his dress shirt as he ambled over to the living area of the suite, making sure to close the bedroom door behind him, knowing Sarah was still doing her hair and makeup and wasn’t decent quite yet.

“It’s about time you answered,” Casey grunted when Chuck opened the door and invited him in. “Need I remind you that this is not a vacation and we have actual work to do here?”

“Casey, we have traveled halfway around the world,” Chuck reminded him, gesturing for the older man to take a seat in an armchair while he took a seat on the divan, “We thought we should get some rest while we could to try to avoid jet lag.”

“Whatever,” Casey grunted, “While you and Walker were playing fill the palacsinta, I was on the line with Beckman. Seems we aren’t the only one using this joyous occasion to do a little spy work. In addition to Ilsa, there is a MI-6 team as well.”

“Are we to make contact with them?” Sarah asked, exiting the bedroom, her hair in a stylish updo, wearing a short, midnight blue, cocktail dress and a pair of silver pumps and fastening a pair of diamond drop earrings to her ears.

“Yes,” Casey rolled his eyes, “According to Beckman we have to play nice with the limeys. It’s a man and woman team undercover as a couple… where have we heard that before?”

Sarah and Chuck rolled their eyes at Casey, “Do we have aliases or a way to identify them?” Sarah inquired, taking a seat next to Chuck.

“No,” Casey shook his head, “But there’s a chance that your boytoy’s CPU might ping on ‘em.”

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Chuck feigned protest.

“To which? You being my boytoy or that you are part of the Borg?” Sarah arched an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

“Both,” Chuck shrugged, “I mean, I had no choice; resistance was futile.”

“If I wanted to hear cutesy banter, I would have stayed in Cali with my daughter and her idiot hobbit of a boyfriend.” Casey groused. “I’m going to try to make contact with Ilsa; see if she has any information we can use to turn Federov. You two be on the lookout for his cronies and the limeys.”

“Gotcha,” Chuck nodded.

“We can share our findings over breakfast,” Sarah added, “Casey, why don’t you head on down now and Chuck and I will follow shortly.”

Casey grunted his agreement and took his leave from the suite to let Chuck and Sarah finish getting ready for the night. Since it was supposed to be somewhat casual, Chuck had opted to wear a medium grey suit with a pale dress shirt with the feintest hint of a lilac hue and no tie. He fastened his watch communicator to his wrist and helped Sarah on with her own bracelet communicator before pulling out the earwigs handing one to Sarah and claiming the other for himself. Once he was sure they were working correctly, he checked his pockets for his wallet with his cover ID and credit cards and key card before slipping on his suit jacket and helping Sarah on with her wrap. Within minutes they were ready to head down to the lounge.

“In case I forgot to say so, you look beautiful tonight, Jenny,” He whispered in her free ear as the car descended.

“Thank you,” She gave him a warm smile as she turned to straighten his lapels and make sure his shirt was not wrinkled, her rings glimmering in the low light of the car. “You look pretty dapper yourself, Charlie.”

“You ready to do this?” He asked, capturing her hands against his chest from where they were still smoothing the non-existent wrinkles out his shirt; an obvious ploy to have an excuse for her to touch him.

“As I’ll ever be,” She gave him a quick peck on his lips and wiped away the bit of lipstick that transferred at the contact with her fingers as the elevator doors slid open. Chuck offered his arm to hers and she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, allowing him to lead her to the evening’s social event.  
  


* * *

The lounge was buzzing with activity by the time they entered, many were seated at the various tables, high-tops, and booths throughout the social space, with a few people leaning against the bar speaking to the bartenders who were quickly mixing and distributing drinks for the waitstaff and patrons alike. Chuck and Sarah didn’t see Casey when they entered and made their way to the bar, casually looking about as if in search of an available table.

“Care for a drink?” Chuck nodded toward a newly vacated stool at the bar.

“I would love one,” Sarah smiled up at her boyfriend who deftly maneuvered them through the crowd to the bar, assisting her onto the stool before catching the bartender’s attention, ordering a white wine for Sarah and a whiskey neat for himself.

A few minutes later, Casey’s presence was announced over their earwigs, “So many Russians…”

“What did you expect, big guy?” Chuck scratched his cheek as he spoke under his breath into his wrist com. He handed Sarah her drink and lifted his glass to his lips to cover his next point. “And isn’t that a little like the pot calling the kettle black? Your mother’s maiden name is Stepanova.”

“You leave my mother out of this,” Casey growled back.

“Boys, focus,” Sarah chided them, slight amusement coloring her voice. “Have either of you spotted our contacts?”

“Not yet,” Casey reported.

Chuck scanned the room once more catching sight of a man who looked to be in his mid-30’s with short dark hair and a bit of scruff, leaned over whispering in the ear of a woman in her late 20’s with shoulder length brunette hair who was smiling as if he said something amusing. Chuck leaned over as if he were whispering flirty little nothings in her ear to hide both the fact he was flashing and his report, which he made thanks to Sarah placing her hand on his cheek, allowing him to communicate via her bracelet com that he had spotted the MI-6 team.

“Well what are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?” Casey challenged over his coms, “Get over there and make contact.”

“Give him a moment, Casey,” Sarah huffed under her breath, “It looked like it was a big one.”

“I’m good,” Chuck nodded after a moment, and gave Sarah a warm smile, offering his arm to her, “Shall we go see if we can’t make some new friends?”

Sarah nodded and linked her arm through his as he guided her through the throng of people to the booth where the MI6 team was seated.

“Excuse us,” Chuck addressed the couple in Hungarian and gave them a charming smile, “But would you mind if my wife and I joined you? The lounge is so full, we can’t seem to find any other seating, and since you two are the only ones here who are remotely our age…”

“Of course,” The man returned with a dashing grin of his own, “Please, we could use the company.”

“Thank you,” Chuck nodded, taking Sarah’s wine glass so she could slide into the booth then handing both glasses to her so he could do the same.

“Hello Cole,” Sarah gave the British man a humored smile.

“Agent Walker,” Cole let out a wry laugh then spared a look toward Chuck, “And you are?”

“Charles Carmichael,” Chuck offered his hand across the table, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Agent Barker, I’ve heard nothing but good things.”

“Interesting,” Cole shook his hand, “I’ve heard nothing of you.”

“He’s new to the company,” Sarah gave Chuck a secretive smile, “But you probably know him better as Piranha.”

The eyes of the British agents widened in recognition, “How? I thought he was untraceable!”

“Still am,” Chuck grinned proudly, “A friend of mine got me back in contact with Jenny.”

“Jenny?” Cole arched an eyebrow.

“Jenny Carmichael,” Sarah stated as means of explanation.

“Ah, so your cover is as a married couple,” Cole nodded understandingly, “But I still don’t know why a hacker is needed on your mission. Which is what, by the way?”

“Locate Victor Federov and see if we can’t get him to roll over on some of his associates,” Sarah provided

“Ah, now I see why a hacker might come in handy,” Cole smirked, “If he won’t talk, Piranha here will do a deep dive on him.”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Chuck took a sip from his whiskey.

“And what are the two of you here for?” Sarah looked between Cole and his partner.

“Believe it or not,” Cole chuckled and sent a loving look to the woman seated beside him, “We’re getting married. I was sent undercover to investigate a particular Russian businessman. All I was told was that there was already someone on the inside. I never imagined my assignment would come to this.”

“They’re making you get married?” Chuck gave them a puzzled look.

“No,” The woman shook her head with a gentle smile, “Neither the ministry nor the man we are investigating is requiring this of us.”

“I never thought I’d ever have cause to say these words and truly mean it,” Cole grinned, “But I love Vivian dearly and want to be her husband in the fullest extent of the word.”

“That is surprising,” Sarah smiled, “I never thought I would live to see the day that Cole Barker actually fell in love.”

“Congratulations, you two,” Chuck raised his glass in toast to them, “To Cole Barker and Vivian… I’m sorry I didn’t catch your last name.”

“McArthur is my surname,” Vivian provided, “Well, McArthur-Winterbottom, but that’s a bit of a mouthful, my cover name is…”

“Vivian Volkoff…” Chuck murmured as he flashed, earning him concerned looks from the others at his table. A moment later, his eyes refocused.

“Charlie, Baby, are you okay?” Sarah gave him an evaluating look.

“I’m fine,” Chuck shook his head to clear it a bit, “It just caught me off guard is all. She is Alexei Volkoff’s daughter.”

Sarah’s eyes widened as she looked toward the bride to be, “I don’t understand.”

“You might not, but I think your partner understands more than he’s letting on,” Vivian gave Chuck an evaluating look.

“Perhaps we should take this somewhere a little more private?” Cole suggested.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Chuck nodded, “I have a feeling there are some things that we all need to discuss.”

“I’m assuming Volkoff has your rooms bugged,” Sarah looked between Vivian and Cole who nodded in confirmation, “Why don’t your come by ours, give us a little bit of a head start. We swept our suite when we arrived, but it couldn’t hurt to do another sweep.”

“It will also give us time to get a hold of our directors to confirm what we can and cannot share,” Chuck added.

“Agreed,” Cole nodded and stood. He exchanged a handshake with Chuck, which allowed the men to pass Chuck’s room key between them and welcomed a kiss on the cheek from Sarah who whispered their suite number in his ear before retreating.

Chuck and Sarah headed toward their room, advising Casey of what was going on and that they would meet him in the morning with more details. Receiving a grunt that indicated the NSA agent’s acknowledgement and confirmation he would continue to observe the lounge a bit longer.

* * *

The couples entered the Carmichaels’ suite silently. Chuck ducked into the bedroom and returned with a couple handheld devices. Once he and Sarah had swept the room and were satisfied that it was clear of bugs, Chuck returned the bug detectors as Sarah offered their guests a seat and something to drink. By the time Chuck had returned with his laptop and a secure hotspot, Sarah had poured glasses of white wine for herself and Vivian and two scotches for Chuck and Cole.

“Just give me a moment to set this up so it’s ready to go when we get around to briefing our people.” Chuck gave the group a smile as he turned to his work. After making sure everything was connected, he joined Sarah on the divan and accepted his drink. As Vivian already surmised, I have a little more information than some of the rest of you.”

“What can you tell us, Charlie?” Sarah went with Chuck’s cover name so they all could get used to using it for the duration of the operation.

“Vivian and I actually knew each other as children,” Chuck looked at the brunette, “Although I doubt you remember me, we were pretty young the last time we saw each other.”

“You may have a point there,” Vivian shrugged, “I do not recall anyone named Carmichael…”

“You wouldn’t, but does the name Stephen Bartowski ring a bell?” Chuck gave her a pointed look.

“Oh my God,” Vivian’s eyes widened, “You’re _that_ Charlie; Uncle Stephen’s son?!”

“Nice to see you again Vivy,” Chuck smiled warmly at her, “How’s Uncle Hartley doing?”

“Not so well, the Volkoff personality has pretty much taken him over.” Vivian sighed, “Only reason he even accepts me as his daughter is that Frost made sure he was aware of who I was when it became clear the override failed.”

“We may have a way to help,” Chuck assured her, “We have a pair of glasses that can be programmed to essentially override the agent X programming your father received, but we need a way to get him to put them on.”

Vivian sat thoughtfully, “I may have an idea, but we will need to bring in another operative. One he trusts more than me.”

“Who would that be?” Sarah inquired.

“Frost,” Cole and Vivian spoke at the same time.


	20. Chapter 20

“Frost is here?” Chuck looked at the couple in shock, “ _Your dad_ was the operative she was sent after?”

“I suppose so,” Vivian shrugged, “Why? Does the fact she’s here make any difference?”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Chuck sighed, grateful for Sarah’s free hand rubbing his forearm soothingly. “Can you arrange a way for us to meet, one that won’t make Volkoff suspicious?”

“Our rehearsal dinner is tomorrow,” Cole offered, “You could come as an old mate of mine from University. We can just tell people that we met when you came to Oxford on exchange. I doubt two more guests will make much of a difference.”

“That could work,” Chuck nodded, “What time and where is the rehearsal?”

“The rehearsal dinner starts at 7pm tomorrow night in the Restaurant downstairs,” Cole informed them, “Just let them know you are with the wedding party and they will direct you to the private room.”

“Dress code?” Sarah inquired.

“Cocktail attire,” Vivian supplied, “Something along the lines of what you are wearing now should be fine, the wedding itself will be formal. You are, of course, invited. After all, how could I deny my childhood playmate an invitation? I’ll make sure a formal invitation is delivered to you tomorrow.”

“We appreciate that,” Sarah nodded, “We’ll just go ahead and RSVP in advance for three. Our partner John Casey is with us as well.”

“I thought I saw him chatting up that DGSE fox earlier,” Cole mused only to be elbowed by his fiancée. “Now Viv, she’s nowhere near as attractive as you.”

“Nice save,” Vivian rolled her eyes as Chuck and Sarah fought to suppress their grins. “Is there anything else you are needing from us? We have a busy couple days ahead of us and I’d like to get a little sleep while I still can.”

“Brilliant idea,” Cole murmured to Vivian, “Since I don’t plan on sleeping once the wedding is over.”

“No, I think we can take care of the rest from here,” Chuck shook his head ignoring Cole’s statement. He then stood and gestured toward the door to walk their guests out. He kissed Vivian’s cheek and shook Cole’s hand. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thanks, Mate,” Cole nodded, “You just make sure to phone when you two finally decide the cover isn’t good enough anymore. Sarah knows how to reach me.”

“We will,” Chuck nodded and began to open the door, “Oh, one more thing use the Carmichael cover until after you introduce us to Frost.”

“Is there bad blood between you two and her?” Cole arched an eyebrow.

“You might say that,” Chuck gave a half-shrug, “I’m just not entirely sure she’d come if she knew it was Sarah and me that she was meeting.”

“Roger that,” Cole clapped him on the shoulder before placing his hand on his fiancée’s lower back and guiding her out. “Tomorrow then?”

“Yes, until tomorrow,” Chuck nodded and closed the door behind them before returning to the sitting area where Sarah was waiting for him.

“What’s our next step?” Sarah asked him, “Because last I checked, the Intersect glasses we have are just for updates, not overwriting a previously existing Intersect.”

“That’s a fairly simple fix,” Chuck assured her, “The trick is to get the override program from Orion, especially since Volkoff’s Intersect is a different program from mine.”

“Well before you get too far gone into that,” Sarah stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist under his jacket and rested her head in his shoulder, “Might as well get comfy. I know you, whether or not you are able to get a hold of Orion tonight, you are going to be up for hours working on reencoding those glasses.”

“Probably a good idea,” Chuck nodded with a sigh and leaned down to press a kiss to her head.

“You go change, I’ll order some brain food,” Sarah stepped back and gave him a light push toward the bedroom.

“Make sure to see if they have…” Chuck started.

“Rombauer, I know,” Sarah gave him a soft smile, “Just who do you think you’re talking to?”

“My mistake,” He chuckled and ducked into the bedroom as Sarah lifted the room phone and dialed the extension for room service.

By the time Chuck returned, wearing comfortable grey sweats and his old Quantum Leap t-shirt that was fitting a little tighter - although not uncomfortably so - these days, their order had been delivered. Sarah had placed the various items on one side of the dining table. At a glance he saw at least two bottles of Rombauer, several bottles of flat and sparkling water, granola bars, snack cakes, and some cut and whole fruit. He picked up his laptop from the coffee table and brought it over to the table to set up for what he anticipated to be a long coding session as Sarah ducked into the room to change herself.

It didn’t take long for Chuck to set up his personal encryption network and establish his server protocol which routed his IP address through multiple servers at random and at a rate that not even the CIA or NSA were ever able to track him, even now that he outed himself to them, not that they much cared anymore. Opening a communication channel, he began initializing the connection protocol to contact Orion. Once he’d found out that Orion was his father, it had been easier to locate the older engineer’s network, something that the analysts and IT specialists of the CIA and NSA had failed to accomplish in the 14-some-odd years since the man disappeared.

The connection established, the only thing to do was wait, which wasn’t long. Orion must have been close to his computer or heard the alert of an inbound communication. The bank screen of the video call changed to show the outline of a humanoid figure created by scrolling alphanumeric code in a purple-ish hue. “Who is this?” A digitized voice demanded.

“Someone who realizes the irony of you going off grid,” Chuck responded, knowing that Orion was receiving a similarly digitized voice and pixilated image, “Only in your case you don’t seem to have a CLU.”

The digitized image on the screen looked confused, if that were even possible, before Orion spoke again, “Identify yourself.”

“I go by many names,” Chuck responded vaguely, “You may have heard of the Piranha.” Orion did not respond, but Chuck was able to see a slight tick of recognition behind the scrolling code obfuscating his father’s face, “But you probably know me better as your son, Chuck.”

“Charles?” The digitized voice’s confused amazement was clear over the transmission.

Chuck pressed a few buttons on his computer, disengaging the audio and visual encoding that had been obscuring his identity from his father. “Hi Dad.”

Orion likewise disengaged his transmission protocols; Chuck could see that his father had aged significantly since he last saw him. His bright eyes had dimmed a bit, the crow’s feet around his eyes were more pronounced, and he was clearly worn down. “Charles! My God, it’s good to see that face.”

“It’s good to be seen,” Chuck gave him a small smile.

“How did you find me?” Stephen questioned.

“I’m the Piranha,” Chuck shrugged, “I probably could have found you years ago, I was tempted, believe me, I was tempted. When Ellie was accepted to UCLA, when I was accepted to Stanford, and especially after Ellie graduated medical school at the top of her class…” Chuck sighed, “I figured that there must have been a damned good reason for you to leave us like that and stay away, but I still wish you had told us something. Anything would have been better than promising pancakes and then never coming back.”

“I’m sorry, Charles,” Stephen dropped his head.

“Did you even stop to consider that you leaving would have put Ellie and me in danger?” Chuck frowned sadly, “I mean thank God we had the Admiral and Mrs. Calavicci, Agents Turner, and Agent Montgomery looking out for us, but what if we didn’t? What if they were called away?”

Orion’s head shot up, “Wait, what did you call them?”

“Navy Admiral Al Calavicci and his wife Beth, CIA Agents Craig and Laura Turner, and Agent Roan Montgomery – or as we called him back then Tony Lewis, also of the CIA,” Chuck repeated.

“God damn it!” Stephen growled, “How did you find out?”

“Roan told me a few weeks ago,” Chuck explained.

“But he’s been…” Stephen started then looked at his eyes, “What the hell were you doing in DC?”

“Working,” Chuck stated simply, “Did you really think Bryce accusing me of cheating on Fleming’s imagery retention test would stick? I know you had something to do with it, although I don’t think you expected to play out the way it did.” He sighed, “But that’s not important right now. I didn’t call to rehash the past. We need your help.”

“’We?’” Stephen repeated hesitantly.

“Yes, ‘we,’” Sarah spoke up from behind Chuck, neither man had noticed her approach.

Chuck turned to see his girlfriend wearing a brown shirt, that was clearly his as it swamped her slender frame, with the words ‘I aim to misbehave’ printed over the outline of Serenity, and a pair of his boxers which were barely visible under the hem of the shirt. “My God, Jen,” He sighed into her ear as she casual seated herself in his lap, “Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?”

“I have an idea,” She gave him an impish smile.

“You are making it very hard…”

“I noticed,” She teased, adjusting her position in his lap.

“…to focus right now,” Chuck finished with a groan.

“You like it,” She giggled, giving him a quick peck.

The sound of Stephen clearing is throat interrupted their little tête-à-tête, and the couple blushed. “Sorry Dad,” Chuck shrugged sheepishly hoping his father hadn’t heard too much.

“Are you going to introduce us?” Stephen prompted.

“Sorry, Dad,” Chuck gave him a small smile, “Allow me to introduce my girlfriend, Jenny.”

Stephen turned a stern gaze to the female spy, “Really, is that the name she gave you?”

“Yes, it is.” Chuck stated firmly, “That _was_ her name, ten years ago when we first met in high school. She may be Sarah to the rest of the world, but she’s my Jenny.”

“Well technically speaking, it _is_ my cover right now,” Sarah gave a small shrug.

“Charles,” Stephen pleaded with his son, “You don’t know who she really is, what she’s done.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Chuck shook his head, “I am one of the very few people who truly know who she is beneath the persona of Sarah Walker CIA Agent. And as for the other thing, she has done her job. No more, no less, with few exceptions when doing the right thing made it necessary to deviate from her orders. And in that particular instance the order was unlawful and given by a rogue agent.”

Stephen closed his eyes as if praying for strength. “Where are you?”

“Debrecen,” Chuck stated, “We’re here for Vivian’s wedding.”

“You’re WHERE?!” Stephen shouted, “Charles, do you have any idea how dangerous that is?! Who her father is?”

“I am aware of what, or should I say who, Uncle Hartley has become,” Chuck spoke calmly, “And when we first arrived, we had no idea that he was going to be here. We didn’t even know it was Vivy’s wedding, we were tracking Victor Federov in hopes of learning more about his connections and how we might shut down his weapons pipeline. Finding out whose wedding he was attending was a happy accident and since Vivy and I are childhood friends, and Jen knows her fiancé, they invited us. Which leads to why we need your help. We want to try to deactivate Volkoff’s Intersect.”

“Can’t be done,” Stephen shook his head, “Maybe we could deactivate yours, provided we had the right equipment, but his is a lost cause.”

“Just because the deactivation code you programed in didn’t take?” Chuck challenged, “Or the in-person backup that Mom attempted failed? And before you try to deny it, Vivian and Cole have already confirmed she’s here.”

“Charles, you have no idea what you are asking,” Stephen shook his head.

“I have Intersect glasses with me,” Chuck informed him, “All I have to do is reprogram them to override rather than update. You’re not the only engineer in the family, and not to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty damned good at this kind of thing. If you don’t want to be too involved, fine, send me the packet you uploaded him with. Maybe I can figure out how to override it.”

“I’ve spent years trying to figure it out, what makes you think you can figure it out in a matter of what, weeks? Days?” Stephen challenged.

“I can at least try,” Chuck insisted, “I mean if it brings Uncle Hartley back and frees up Mom and potentially you to come home, that’s worth it to me.”

Stephen sighed, “Charles, I don’t know.”

“Please Dad,” Chuck pressed, “I want nothing more than for my family to be together again.”

“I must be insane for doing this,” Stephen sighed, “Fine, I’ll send you the program, just don’t be too disappointed when it fails.”

Chuck hit a few keys, opening a new window on his screen, and with arms bracketing Sarah, who was still seated comfortably on his lap, he typed in a few commands. “I’ve sent you a link to an anonymous server of my own design, it’s secure and hack-proof. Thank you.”

“I really hope this all works out for you,” Stephen gave him a sad smile, “I want you to have a better life than I’ve had the past decade and a half.”

“If I succeed, maybe you can have a little of that good life back,” Chuck replied softly before the call was disconnected. He wrapped his arms securely around Sarah’s waist and rested his head on her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her neck, “Now all there is to do is to wait.”

“Not all,” Sarah turned until she was seated sideways across his lap, “I can think of ways to pass the time.”

“Why Mrs. Carmichael,” Chuck teased, “What exactly are you suggesting.”

“Well Mr. Carmichael,” She cooed pressing a soft kiss to his lips, “I know you noticed when I came out of the bedroom, ‘I aim to misbehave.’”

“Mmm,” Chuck dropped his head and hummed into her neck, “Well then, let’s misbehave.” He sang the last two words to her before lifting her in his arms as he stood and carried his giggling girlfriend into their bedroom.


	21. Chapter 21

Orion pushed back from his work station with a groan. After all he had done to try to keep his children out of the CIA, Charles _still_ had wound up working for the company. Granted, when he’d convinced Larking to frame his son for cheating to void his test results on Fleming’s image retention test, he hadn’t expected it to result in Charles’ expulsion, he just thought the kid would have to retake the test and be put on academic probation for the remainder of his semester. There was nothing he could have done about it without revalidating Charles’ test results which would have brought him to the attention of the CIA sooner. Not that any of his plans had done any good.

It didn’t help that Larkin seemed to have a change of conscience four months ago and sent Charles the damned Intersect anyhow. At least some good came out of it, as it resulted in Charles finally being issued the degree he’d worked so hard for, and had been denied. On the other hand, it also brought Agent Sarah Walker to his son’s door, and it looked as if his son was going down the same path that he, himself, had gone down over three decades before; falling in love with a spy. He still loved his Mary, and missed her every day, but it was a hardship he’d never wanted for his son.

He stepped to a panel in the wall of his cabin, moved the family picture – the last one of all of them together – that hung there aside and pressed his hand to the biometric scanner that was inset into the wall. The pad turned green and the wall slid to the side revealing a set of stairs heading down to the hidden basement. He slowly descended the stairs, his knees not what they used to be, and went straight to the section of his storage he knew housed the disks holding the data packets from the Agent X Intersect. The clamshell-style disk storage case was right where he knew it would be. Tucking the box under his arm, and grabbing the auxiliary disk reader, he headed back up the stairs to his workstation.

Compiling the data packets and converting them for transmission took a few hours as he had to load the data packets individually from each disk, but the files were finally ready to upload to the server Charles had provided him with. The upload took another 45 minutes to fully transmit, and through the whole process he questioned the intelligence of doing so. He had tried and failed 20 years ago to disengage the Volkoff programming and bring Hartley back, multiple times. At this point he counted it as a loss, and while he hoped to, someday, see his wife again, his faith that it would actually happen dimmed every day, week, month, year that she was gone. He just prayed that if she met her demise in the ‘employ’ of Volkoff, it wouldn’t be too gruesome.

He silently watched the upload bar as it processed the transmission, when it hit 100%, he sat back and sighed. “Good luck, Charles. You’re gonna need it.” With that, he shut down his system and ambled off to the kitchen to make his dinner.

* * *

It was around three in the morning when Chuck stumbled out of his room in search of food and drink for himself and Sarah to replenish the energy they’d just spent the past few hours expending when he heard a soft chime from his computer. Taking a seat, he woke his system to see what the alert was for, a smile graced his lips as he saw his father had done as he’d been asked and sent him the data packets he’s requested. He pressed a few buttons to download the data packets to the auxiliary hard drive, he’d plugged in for that very reason, and set his computer to shut down after the download was completed. He grabbed a few pieces of fruit and some bottled water and headed back to bed to get a few more hours of sleep before it was time to meet with Casey for their debrief.

* * *

They had managed to wake up and finish showering in just enough time before Casey’s scheduled arrival. Chuck was seated in the living room, wearing jeans and a brown Henley, sock-covered feet propped up on the coffee table. He was skimming over the coding the data packets his father has sent him on his laptop while he sipped his coffee and nibbled on a pastry when Casey knocked on the door connecting their suites. Chuck set his feet on the floor and his laptop on the coffee table and ambled over to the door.

“Good morning, Casey,” Chuck greeted the older man warmly, “There’s coffee brewed and pastries on the table.”

“Where’s Walker?” Casey looked around the room.

“I’m right here,” Sarah responded, entering from the bedroom, securing her hair into a ponytail.

Casey gave her a once over from her still-damp hair, to the t-shirt she’d clearly stolen from Bartowski, to her jeans and sock covered feet and, then taking into account Chuck’s wet curls, let out a frustrated groan, “It’s enough to know you Bartowski is actively stuffing your pierogi, but do you have to flaunt it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sarah smiled sweetly at her partner as she sauntered up to her boyfriend, kissed his cheek, and stole his coffee cup, taking a swig of it before handing it back to him.

Casey grunted in disgusted, “Can we just get on with this?”

“Of course,” Chuck smiled and gestured toward the living room. After grabbing some pastry and coffee, including a refill for Chuck, the trio took their seats to begin their briefing. Chuck and Sarah explained about meeting up with Cole and Vivian and the connection between Chuck and Vivian’s fathers. Casey’s eyes widened for only a moment when Chuck revealed that his mother had been undercover since Volkoff’s Intersect and failed to disengage. “She doesn’t know I’m here or that I work for the CIA, but we’re fairly confident she will work with us when we tell her our plan.”

“So, are we no longer going after Federov?” Casey took a sip of the coffee that he claimed he took black as his soul, “Do Beckman and Graham know?”

“Yes, we are going after Federov, in a way,” Sarah nodded, “We are thinking that if Volkoff is taken off the board, it will cause whatever pipeline that Federov is using to get weapons for his buyers will dry up. And no, we haven’t briefed them yet.”

“Why the hell not?” Casey demanded.

“We don’t know how my mom will react to seeing me again, let alone finding out I’m working with the CIA and NSA.” Chuck gave his partner a half-smile, “It didn’t go so well when my dad found out.”

“What does you dad have to do with this?” Casey looked between his partners in confusion.

“Casey, my dad is Orion, in case you forgot.” Chuck gave the older man a skeptical look before he continued, “Twenty years ago, he and Vivian’s father along with Dr. Busgang – code name Perseus – and my mother were involved in developing an early prototype of what would eventually become the Intersect. They called it Agent X as their goal was to download a personality matrix into an operative to eliminate the risk of blowing an agent’s cover. According to my father’s notes, the CIA had pushed for a test of the programming and threatened to revoke funding if no test was done within a specific time frame. Apparently, no one in our government heeded Quantum Leap’s warning about testing experiments before they’re ready.

“Vivian’s father, Hartley Winterbottom, a scientist and former operative for MI:6, volunteered to have the program uploaded into his head. They tried first with a small packet of information, which seemed to be well received and was able to be accessed until the coding told the program to essentially ‘switch off.’ Eventually they worked their way up to uploading a full personality matrix into Hartley and it seemed to work. He was able to successfully insert himself into the Bratva. After a few months, the program was supposed to shut off. When they didn’t hear from Hartley, my mom was sent with a way of overriding the program, but that failed. They attempted a few more times, I remember her leaving for several business trips during this time, but each time it didn’t work. Eventually it was decided that my mom would go under as his assistant to be his handler. Withing a few years Hartley had managed to build a reputation and a name as one of the most prolific arms dealers Russia had ever seen. My mom was always at his side and is now his most trusted right-hand man… or woman as it were.”

“So, you’re saying that your dad, under the direction of the CIA…” Casey started.

“Created Alexei Volkoff, yes,” Chuck confirmed with a sad smile.

“And your mom is…”

“Frost,” Chuck confirmed.

“Oh, Chuck me…” Casey groaned.

“Why is this so surprising to you?” Sarah challenged, “The rampant nepotism in the CIA is not exactly a state secret.” Both men gave her a dry look, “Okay, so it _is_ a state secret, but not within the intelligence community.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Casey looked between his partners.

“We spoke with my father last night and he sent me the data packet from the Agent X Intersect.” Chuck explained, “I am going to try to see if there’s a way I can circumvent or override the programming enough to disable the Volkoff personality. With any luck, I’ll also be able to reprogram the update glasses to administer the override.”

“The thing is we need to get the glasses to him and somehow get him to turn them on voluntarily,” Sarah added, “Since Frost is his number two, we’re hoping to get the glasses to her to give to him, but first we have to gain her cooperation.”

“We are taking advantage of our friendships with Cole and Vivian, the bride and groom, to get an introduction, or rather a reintroduction,” Chuck added, “They invited us to their rehearsal dinner, where Frost is bound to be considering Volkoff is the father of the bride.”

“Are you sure she’s going to agree to work with us?” Casey gave them an uncertain look, “Being under as long as she has, her loyalties may have shifted.”

“I think the risk is worth the reward,” Chuck shrugged slightly, “The worst she can do is say, ‘No.’”

“No, kid,” Casey shook his head, “The worse she can do is put a bullet through your brainpan, and I don’t know about Walker, but I really don’t have time to deal with dead geek.”

“Nerd,” Chuck and Sarah corrected on reflex.

“And let her try,” Sarah’s face hardened.

“Your funeral,” Casey shrugged, “If the Moron is working on deprogramming the most dangerous man on the planet, what is our next step?”

“I’m staying here, to make sure he doesn’t overdo it on his thinking juice,” Sarah explained, “Last thing we need is for him to show up to the rehearsal dinner three sheets to the wind.”

“That’d be a more apt descriptor if used to describe a drunk Casey,” Chuck snickered, “You know, since he’s a marine.”

Casey growled.

“Boys, focus,” Sarah gave them both a stern look., “Chuck will get a start on trying to figure out how to override the Agent X programming, the goal being to have it ready to go by the time of the wedding tomorrow, or at the very latest by the time Volkoff and Frost head back to Moscow. Casey, meet with Ilsa and keep working the Federov angle, just in case removing Volkoff doesn’t resolve the pipeline issue.”

“Fine,” Casey grunted, “Debrief again tomorrow, same time?”

“That should work,” Chuck nodded, Sarah mimicking the motion.

Casey gave a grunt of understanding, then exited the room.

“So, what do you need in order to get started?” Sarah turned to her boyfriend.

“I already have,” Chuck pulled up the window displaying the coding for the Agent X program, “But if you could uncork a bottle and maybe grab me another pastry, that would be helpful.”

“Sure,” Sarah nodded, did as he asked and brought the pastry and opened wine bottle handing the bottle to him and watching him take a swig, “Open,” Chuck opened his mouth while she inserted a bite of pastry into his mouth. “Don’t get used to this.”

“I won’t,” Chuck assured her, opening another window to make notes, “But I love that you’re willing to do it when I need it.”

“Alright then,” Sarah patted him on his shoulder before going into the bedroom and emerging with her own laptop to go over any recent briefings and releases she received. Every so often she would make sure Chuck ate a little more pastry.

As Chuck reviewed the files, he saw that his father had included his attempts at a program override and notes as to what he thought might have gone wrong. Finishing the last swig of wine, he was surprised when the bottle was removed from his hand and replaced with a cool green bottle with a blue label reading ‘Theodora.’ The surprise must have shown on his face, because Sarah gave him a soft smile, “Drink that and eat a sandwich, then you may have more thinking juice.”

“Fine,” Chuck huffed lightly to show he wasn’t overly upset by her direction. Putting his laptop aside, he screwed off the metal lid and took a long swig of the cool drink, feeling the slight buzz he was getting from the wine to ebb a bit. Once a third of the bottle was gone, Sarah handed him a turkey and muenster sandwich, which he promptly ate while finishing off the last of his water.

Sarah accepted the empty bottle and used plate from him and walked back to the table to uncork another bottle. This cycle of making sure he was snacking while coding and drinking his thinking juice, then insisting on him drinking a bottle of water along with something more substantial repeated itself a few more times until it was a little after 5pm. She handed him one last bottle of water, instructing him to drink, and waiting patiently until the empty bottle was handed to her.

“How are you feeling?” She sat down next to him, looking between her boyfriend and the computer which had dominated his attention all day.

“Not bad, all things considered,” Chuck shrugged, “I feel relatively sobor, so that’s good. And I think I made good progress on this. I’m almost ready to run a simulation, but that can wait until after the rehearsal dinner, that way I can program in a few variables and allow it to run overnight, see which comes closest to the desired result.”

“You are such a nerd,” Sarah smiled up at him, “But that’s why I love you.” She kissed him, “Now go get changed, we have friends to watch practice getting married.”

“Why, wanna take notes?” Chuck gave her a teasing look.

“Maybe,” She smiled, “Now get going.”

“Yes dear,” Chuck laughed, rising and heading toward the bedroom door.

“And make sure you brush your teeth and use some mouthwash,” She advised, “Oh and shower, you smell like you spent all day inside an oak cask.”

“Maybe you should come with me,” Chuck suggested, “Make sure I smell nice and am all prettified.”

“Maybe I should,” She grinned, following him into the bedroom and on to the ensuite bathroom.

* * *

A little over an hour later, they were both showered and dressed, Chuck in a Navy suit and light blue dress shirt, and Sarah in a burgundy cocktail dress with a lace illusion off-the shoulder neckline, a bow at the waist and an A-line skirt which she had paired with black pumps. Their wedding invitation had arrived earlier that day by way of one of the bellmen. Included in the envelope was an invitation to not only the rehearsal dinner, but the rehearsal itself.

“You look beautiful, Jenny,” Chuck spoke softly in the local dialect as he smiled down at her warmly as he helped her on with her coat before shrugging on his own.

“Thank you, Charlie,” She kissed him on the cheek wiping the lipstick from his cheek as she replied in kind, “You look pretty handsome yourself.”

“Shall we go?” He opened the door for her.

“Let’s go,” She nodded, picking up her handbag and stepping through the door to wait for Chuck to join her.

He offered her his arm, which she gladly took as they headed toward the elevator. They got appreciative looks from other guests at the hotel as they crossed the lobby and thanked the doorman as he opened the door to them, wishing them a pleasant evening. Sarah was grateful for Chuck’s arm a moment later as she slipped on a frozen piece of sidewalk as they walked next door to the large church where the rehearsal that night and the wedding the next day was to be held. He’d felt her feet start to slip and promptly held firmer to her to keep her upright, pausing a brief moment until she was steady on her feet once more, before proceeding to their destination.

Entering the church, they slipped into a pew about midway down the aisle on the bride’s side, since they’d decided to sit on the groom’s side the next day, assuming his side would be the lighter of the two. This gave them the ability to be close enough to be considered included in the event but far enough away to not be easily noticed. Chuck, once more, assisted her with her coat before sliding his own off his broad shoulders, laying the coats over the back of the pew beside him. As they sat and watched the almost-newlyweds walk through an abbreviated version of the service, they held hands and dreamed of the day that it might be them up on that dais… or on a beach somewhere… each promising to devote their lives to loving the other and their future family.

When it looked like things might be wrapping up soon, Volkoff was in a rather serious discussion with the pastor, Frost by his side, Chuck and Sarah shrugged on their coats and made their way back to the hotel. By the time they’d journeyed upstairs to deposit their outerwear and return to the lobby, the wedding party had returned and was making its way into the restaurant. They slipped in, blending with the rest of the guests and took a seat at a table out of the way enough to not draw attention to themselves, but made sure subtly to catch the eyes of the bride and groom so they would know where to find them.

Once all the guests were seated and Volkoff welcomed them with a toast to the future for the bride and groom, laced with a not so subtle warning of what would befall Cole if he were to hurt Vivian, dinner was served. The guests were given the choice of prime rib drizzled with garlic butter or chicken Kiev, served with garlic roasted potatoes and steamed green beans on the side. They were then poured red or white wine, depending on which entre they had selected, to ensure optimal food and wine pairing. Wanting to get a little taste of each, Chuck ordered the prime rib with red wine, and Sarah ordered the chicken with white. Once dinner had been served, the room was filled with casual conversation and light music overhead.

Soon the plates were cleared away and the guests began to mingle, some socializing, others taking advantage of the small dance floor. Chuck and Sarah mostly stayed to their area, exchanging small talk, in Russian and Hungarian, with other guests, identifying themselves simply as friends of the couple. As they socialized, they kept an eye out for Vivian and Cole, who were making their way around the room, often accompanied by Volkoff, greeting all their guests. Eventually, Volkoff excused himself from the couple and made his way over to a group of men standing in the far corner of the room. A few moments later the group were exiting for some clandestine meeting or another.

Sarah saw the moment that Vivian’s eyes lit up, pretending to finally spot her friends in the busy room. Linking her arm with Cole’s and nearly dragging the older woman who had been Volkoff’s escort most of the night along with her. Sarah nudged Chuck, who nodded that he was aware of the trio’s approach. As the nearly-weds grew closer, Sarah and Chuck heard Vivian insisting that Frost meet her friends.

“Frost, darling, you simply must meet our friends who came all this way for the wedding.” She had insisted, earning her a slight eye roll and hesitant compliance from the older woman. Stepping up to the other couple, Vivian smiled at her father’s second in command, “Frost, I’d like you to meet Cole’s friend from University, Charlie Carmichael and his wife Jenny.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Frost,” Sarah greeted the woman kindly, hand extended, which the older woman cordially shook.

Chuck, who had been turned in profile to Frost up until this point, turned to greet her, a wry smile on his lips, “Hi, Mom. Did you miss me?”


End file.
